THE  PRACTICAL 
FLOWER    GARDEN 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

MEW  YORK   •   BOSTON  •    CHICAGO 
ATLANTA  •    SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON   •   BOMBAY  •   CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Lm 

TORONTO 


THE  PRACTICAL 
FLOWER   GARDEN 


BY 
HELENA   RUTHERFURD   ELY 

ATTTHOB  OF  "A  WOMAN'S  HARDY  GARDEN," 
"ANOTHER  HARDY  GARDEN  BOOK,  "ETC. 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS   MADE    FROM   PHOTOGRAPHS    TAKEN    IN    THE    AUTHOB'0 
GARDEN,    AND   IN   THE    "CONNECTICUT   QAHDEN" 


THE    MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:   MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 

1911 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1911 
Br  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.  Published  April,  1911 


J.  Horace  McFarland  Company 
Harrisburtf.  Pennsylvania 


ES 


THIS    BOOK  JS    DEDICATED    TO 

MY    BEST    FRIEND    AND 

SEVEREST    CRITIC 


227907 


PREFACE 

TN  this  little  book  are  given  the  results  of 
my  experience  in  practical  work  in  the 
flower  garden  during  the  last  five  years,  in 
caring  for  the  grass  and  evergreens,  arranging 
flowers  to  secure  constant  color  effects,  raising 
plants  and  trees  from  seeds,  and  the  use  of 
fertilizers  most  suited  to  the  needs  of  the 
various  plants  and  productive  of  the  best 
results. 

The  chapter  on  the  Wild  Garden  owes  its 
being  to  the  maker  of  the  "  Connecticut  Gar- 
den," who  has  given  me  frequent  opportunities 
of  watching  its  development,  and  much  of  the 
information  contained  in  the  chapter.  To  him 
also  I  am  indebted  for  the  beautiful  photo- 
graphs which  may  serve  as  an  inspiration  to 
those  who  would  find  delight  in  creating  a 
similar  garden  of  native  plants  and  shrubs. 

March,  1911 

vii 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Color  Arrangements  of  Flowers         .          .       1 

II.  Some  Green  Things  of  the  Earth     .          .     39 

III.  Raising  Flowers  from  Seed  >     .          .          .69 

IV.  Raising  Trees  from  Seed  ...     95 

V.    Fertilizers     and     How    to     Apply    Them, 

Together  with  Some  Plant  Remedies      .   117 

VI.    A    Little    About    Terraces    and    Their 

Treatment 149 

VII.    The  Wild  Garden 163 

Shrubs,  Vines,   Plants  and  Bulbs   which    I 

have  grown  successfully         .          .          .193 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

COLOR    PLATES  FACIKO 

PAGE 

I.  Looking  in  to  the  sundial  garden    Frontispiece 

II.  The  poppy  bed 22 

III.  One  of  the  long  grass  paths  .         .     44 

IV.  A  clump  of  delphiniums  .          .          .76 
V.  An  entrance  into  the  formal  garden         .     92 

VI.    Entrance  to  the  cedar  walk     .          .          .104 
VII.    A  bit  of  pink  border      .          .          .          .124 
VIII.    The    garden    when    the    Canterbury   bells 

are  blooming      .          .          .          .          .128 

FULL-PAGE  HALF-TONE  PLATES  FACIKO 

PAGE 

1.  A  group  of  yuccas      .         .         .         .  .17 

2.  A  hedge  of  hydrangeas        .          .          .  .32 

3.  An  old-time  entrance  .          .          .  .35 

4.  The  guardian  of  the  garden          .          .  .46 

5.  The  circle  at  the  top  of  the  cedar  walk  .     51 

6.  The  hill  country  in  which  lies  the  garden  .     62 

7.  Asters  following  iris  and  lilies  .  .     87 

8.  A  tangled  corner         .          .          .          .  .90 

9.  Meadow-burn     .          .          .          .          .  .115 

10.  Decorative  effect  of  a  potted  plant        .  .  126 

xi 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 

11. 

The  lily  and  iris  garden     .... 

133 

12. 

A  simple  gateway      ..... 

140 

13. 

An  old  brick  terrace           .... 

147 

14. 

The  formal  quality  of  trained  ivies 

158 

15. 

The  Terraces,  Fayrewold   .... 

165 

16. 

At  the  foot  of  *the  terrace 

167 

17. 

Connecticut  garden  foreground  and  wood- 

land borders          .          .          ... 

170 

18. 

Brook-side  descending  lane 

172 

19. 

Elm  gate  vista           ..... 

177 

20. 

Wild  geese  pool  by  garden  approach 

181 

21. 

Massed  bed  August  and  Autumn  perennials 

183 

22. 

Overlooking  the  "Marigold  Meadow  " 

186 

23. 

The  Cedar  Path  to  Gray  Glen   . 

188 

24. 

The  brook  in  springtime   .... 

192 

ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  TEXT 

PAGE 

25. 

Azalea  mollis   ...... 

195 

26. 

Deutzia  crenata          ..... 

197 

27. 

Deutzia  crenata         ..... 

198 

28. 

Hibiscus            ...... 

199 

29. 

Japanese  maple          ..... 

200 

SO. 

Magnolia  conspicua            .... 

202 

81. 

Magnolia  Soulangeana       .... 

203 

32. 

Magnolia  stella          ..... 

204 

33. 

Syringa,  Marie  Legraye     .... 

207 

34. 

Lilac        ....... 

208 

Xll 


LIST   OF  'ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 


35.  Kalmia  latifolia      "  .          .          .          .          . 

36.  Rhododendron  maximum  .          .          .          . 

37.  Anemone           .          .                    .          .          .  220 

38.  Starwort            ......  222 

39.  Bocconia           ......  224 

40.  Coreopsis  grandiflora          ....  227 

41.  Delphinium                .....  228 

42.  Delphinium      .          .          .          .          .          .  229 

43.  Funkia     .          .          .                  '.          .          .  233 

44.  Helleborus  niger       .....  235 

45.  Japanese  iris     .          t          .          .          .          .  238 

46.  Lilium  auratum         .....  241 

47.  Peony      .          .          .....  245 

48.  Papaver  orientale       .          .          .          .          .  246 

49.  Platycodon       ......  250 

50.  Trillium  grandiflorum         ....  253 

51.  Aster,  Ostrich  Plume         ....  259 

52.  Cosmos    .......  264 

53.  Nasturtium       ......  271 

54.  Sweet  Peas       ......  278 

55.  Clematis  Jackmani    .          .          .          .          .  282 

56.  Crocus     .......  287 

57.  Narcissus,  Emperor  .....  288 

58.  Narcissus,  Sulphur  Phqenix          .          .          .  290 

59.  Narcissus,  Von  Sion             ....  291 

60.  Narcissus  ornatus       .....  292 

61.  Narcissus  poeticus      .....  293 

62.  Tulip,  Picotee  .          .          .  .294 

xiii 


COLOR  ARRANGEMENTS  OF 
FLOWERS 


s 


CHAPTER    I 

COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS   OF   FLOWERS 

HOTJLD  those  winter  town-dwellers  who 
are  lovers  of  nature,  and  whose  thoughts 
during  the  ice-bound  months  continually 
wander  to  their  own  gardens  or  to  trees  and 
green  places  which  they  know  and  love, 
chance  to  take  a  short  trip  into  the  near 
country  in  mid-March,  a  brightness  and 
touch  of  warmth  in  the  sunshine,  and  cer- 
tain awakenings  of  nature,  will  bring  to  them 
a  thrill  of  delight  in  the  knowledge  that 
"  the  winter  is  past." 

Snowbanks  may  be  lingering  in  dark  nooks; 
there  may  still  be  a  fringe  of  ice  upon  the 
brooks  that  wander,  through  the  woods; 
but  in  marshy  places  the  skunk  cabbage 
is  unfolding  its  broad  leaves;  the  downy 
buds  are  expanding  upon  the  willows;  many 


PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 


maples  show  a  tinge  of  the  red  of  coming 
blossoms;  grass  that  has  been  properly  cared 
for  is  already  emerald-green;  crocuses  and 
snowdrops  are  bravely  blooming  in  sheltered 
places,  and,  if  one  gently  lifts  the  covering 
of  the  beds  where  daffodils  have  slept 
through  the  winter,  their  slender  green  tips 
will  be  seen  pushing  through  the  brown 
earth.  Frogs  in  sunny  ponds  are  beginning 
to  pipe  their  shrill  song,  the  robins  have 
come  back,  and  the  town-dweller  returns  to 
the  noisy  city  of  brick  and  stone  possessed 
by  the  longing  that  spring  calls  forth,  to  be 
at  work  among  the  growing  things  and  to 
watch  nature  as  she  comes  to  life  again. 

The  happy  owners  of  gardens  know  that 
now  no  day  should  be  lost.  With  every  new 
sun,  the  buds  on  trees  and  shrubs  expand 
and  the  plants  awaken,  one  by  one.  The 
ground  must  be  prepared,  seeds  sown,  and, 
in  fact,  the  most  delightful  season  in  the 
gardener's  life  has  come,  for  now  she  is 
inspired  by  hope.  The  many  misfortunes 


COLOR    ARRANGEMENTS   OF   FLOWERS 

that  may  overtake  her  garden  in  later  months 
have  now  no  place  in  her  thoughts.  Rose 
bugs,  mildew,  cut-worm,  rust,  and  the  dread- 
ful summer  drought,  have  for  her,  as  yet, 
no  existence.  Every  seed  will  germinate  and 
become  a  sturdy  plant  whiclj  will  blossom 
the  season  through.  All  the  color  arrange- 
ments planned  will  satisfy  her  anticipations; 
the  spring,  summer  and  early  autumn  are 
to  bring  her  ample  fruition  for  her  present 
labors;  for  the  blessed  new  birth  of  imagina- 
tion and  hope,  which  comes  to  the  nature- 
lover  in  the  youth  of  the  year,  makes  all 
things  seem  possible. 

Even  an  experienced  gardener  is  often 
led  away  by  the  fascinating  descriptions  in 
the  plant  and  seedsmen's  catalogues,  whose 
pictures  both  fire  and  bewilder  the  imagina- 
tion. And  what  could  be  more  heavenly  for 
a  woman  gardener  than  to  be  able  to  grow 
all  these  flowers  and  plants,  and  to  attain 
the  marvelous  results  pictured  in  the  cata- 
logues; to  have  all  the  space  she  wanted  in 

5 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

which  to  grow  them,  to  have  all  the  men 
she  needed — really  good  and  efficient  men — 
to  cultivate  them,  and  a  husband  who  never 
grumbled  about  the  amount  of  manure  or 
fertilizer  she  used ! 

We  who  have  borne  the  stress  of  many 
years  of  gardening  are  now  generally  able, 
when  making  our  spring  and  autumn  lists, 
to  harden  our  hearts  to  the  temptations 
offered  us  in  the  pages  of  the  catalogues. 
Of  course,  we  often  want  everything  we  see, 
but  are  able  to  keep  ourselves  within  limits. 
We  can  sympathize  with  and  understand, 
however,  the  difficulty  of  the  young  woman 
who  is  making  her  first  garden,  and  know 
well  how  she  often  spends  time  and  money, 
only  to  reap  disappointment.  When  she  reads 
in  catalogues  such  descriptions  as  "Mag- 
nificent flowers,  strong  and  robust,"  "  A 
new  type  of  phenomenally  robust  growth," 
"Magnificent  and  indispensable  flowering 
plants,"  we  know  how  easily  she  may  be 
misled. 

6 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

It  is  not  necessary  to  have  in  her  garden 
every  plant  that  any  one  else  has  had,  but 
we  should  endeavor  to  achieve  our  results 
by  growing  those  flowers  which  are  best 
suited  to  the  locality  where  we  live,  and 
which  give  us  the  most  remuneration  for 
our  trouble,  and  then,  as  our  experience 
grows,  gradually  increase  the  varieties. 

Of  course,  one  often  tries  a  new  plant, 
from  a  desire  to  experiment  or  from  curios- 
ity, just  as  one  chooses  a  "  salad  Marguer- 
ite "  or  a  "  coupe  San  Jacques,"  or  other 
dish  with  a  strange  name,  from  a  restaurant 
menu,  and  returns  again  to  the  old  flowers, 
as  to  the  simple  dishes. 

There  will  often  be  a  visitor  come  to  see 
the  garden,  generally  a  woman,  who  will 
look  about  critically  and  then  remark,  "  I 
do  not  see  such  and  such  a  flower ;"  when 
you  must  acknowledge  that  you  not  only 
have  not  grown  it  but  have  never  heard  of 
it.  But  do  not  be  discouraged,  as  such 
inquiries  are  not  meant  unkindly,  and  even 

7 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

the  largest  garden  has  not  space  for  every 
flower  that  can  be  grown. 

Enough  cannot  be  said  upon  the  advan- 
tages of  close  planting,  which  produces  not 
only  a  more  even  effect  of  color,  but  also 
an  appearance  of  greater  luxuriance.  The 
flowers  really  do  better  when  closely  set,  as 
the  ground  is  thus  shaded  by  the  foliage, 
and  does  not  become  so  dry  as  where  the 
planting  is  sparse. 

We  should  also  practice  intensive  garden- 
ing, which  provides  successive  crops  of  flow- 
ers in  the  same  bed  or  border,  and  better 
utilizes  every  inch  of  space,  arranging  so 
that  one  flower  will  promptly  follow  an- 
other in  the  same  place.  The  asters  should 
be  fine  plants  ready  to  take  the  places  of  the 
Canterbury  bells;  gladioli  should  be  planted 
to  bloom  where  the  foxgloves  stood;  cosmos 
should  be  raised  to  spread  its  feathery 
branches  where  the  tall  hollyhocks  have 
been  cut  down;  tuberous-rooted  begonias 
should  be  planted  to  fill  later  the  places  in 

8 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

the  border  where  tulips  welcomed  the  spring; 
and  seedlings  of  annuals  should  be  set  every- 
where,— not  one  or  two  of  a  kind  planted 
indiscriminately,  but  so  that  each  border 
will  have  masses  in  colors  that  blend. 

All  of  this  work  requires  much  thought 
and  experiment,  opens  a  wide  and  fascina- 
ting field  to  the  amateur,  and' gives  an  added 
zest  to  the  joys  of  gardening. 

Even  before  the  frost  has  entirely  left  the 
ground,  shrubs,  hedges,  vines,  and  climbing 
roses  should  be  fertilized,  so  that  the  spring 
rains  may  carry  the  tonic  directly  to  the 
roots  of  the  plants.  Manure  (it  no  longer 
can  be  called  "  barnyard,"  since  in  no  self- 
respecting  barn-yard  can  manure  be  gath- 
ered today),  mixed  with  bone  meal  in  the 
proportion  of  five  shovels  to  the  wheelbar- 
row of  manure,  is  best  for  the  purpose. 

As  soon  as  the  ground  can  be  dug,  shrubs 
and  hardy  vines  should  be  transplanted,  or 
set  out.  All  soft-wooded  trees,  such  as  pop- 
lars, willows,  catalpas,  tulips,  magnolias,  as 

9 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

well  as  both  purple  and  copper  beech  and 
the  larch,  must  also  be  set  out  in  the  early 
spring  before  growth  begins. 

Attractive  plantings,  made  in  the  autumn, 
of  shrubs  and  bulbs  which  bloom  at  the  same 
time  in  the  spring,  are: 

Early  daffodils,  which  have  been  covered 
during  the  winter  to  bring  them  forward 
sooner,  may  be  grown  under  and  around  the 
forsythia  bushes. 

The  pink-flowered  crab  apples,  of  which 
BechtePs,  Parkman's,  and  Siberian  are  good 
varieties,  may  be  planted  with  the  long- 
stemmed  May -flowering  rose-pink  tulips,  min- 
gled with  crimson  and  white  bybloem  tulips 
and  a  few  clumps  of  the  pale  lavender  German 
iris  springing  from  the  grass  around  them, 
will  make  a  lovely  corner  about  May  15th. 

Gesneriana  tulips  bloom  at  the  same  time 
as  the  Spircea  Van  Houttei,  and  are  effective 
together. 

Columbines,  with  lavender  and  white  rock- 
ets grown  in  quantities,  together  with  late- 

10 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

blooming  white  lilacs,  such  as  Mme.  Casimir- 
Perier,  and  Marie  Legraye,  have  been  very 
nice  in  my  garden. 

Azalea  mollis,  with  late  yellow  tulips, 
together  with  Deutzia  rosea  and  the  delici- 
ously  scented  daphne,  make  satisfactory  com- 
binations. 

Late  yellow  or  pink  tulips  may  be  planted 
around  a  clump  of  pink  double-flowering 
almond;  and,  as  the  German  iris  blooms  at 
the  same  time  with  the  syringa,  of  which 
Grandiflorus  is  the  best  variety,  a  quantity 
of  this  iris,  in  many  varieties,  is  lovely  when 
grown  in  a  bed  surrounding  the  syringa. 

A  beautiful  shrubbery  can  be  composed 
by  using  weigelia,  varieties  Rosea  and  Eva 
Rathke,  the  golden-leaved  syringa,  both  pink 
and  white  deutzia,  Japanese  snowballs,  both 
the  golden  and  the  variegated  elder,  some 
Japanese  maples  both  red  and  yellow-leaved, 
two  or  three  purple-leaved  plums,  a  few  cedars, 
and  a  few  retinisporas,  with  an  occasional 
Lombardy  poplar  at  the  back. 

11 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

Such  a  shrubbery,  now  about  seven  years 
old,  probably  two  hundred  feet  in  length, 
grows  along  the  front  of  a  beautiful  place  on 
Long  Island,  and  forms  a  lovely  screen 
between  the  house  and  the  highway,  which 
is  thus  entirely  shut  out.  The  syringas,  wei- 
gelias  and  Japanese  snowballs  are  in  full 
bloom  at  the  same  time,  and  their  blossoms, 
together  with  the  golden  and  silvery  foliage 
of  the  alders  and  elders,  the  purple  of  the 
plums,  and  the  dark  green  evergreens  add- 
ing strength  to  the  whole,  make  it  a  most 
remarkable  shrubbery.  It  is  interesting  to 
know  that  this  was  planned  unaided  by  a 
woman,  although  .she  has  an  excellent 
gardener. 

During  the  last  week  of  May  and  the  first 
ten  days  of  June,  the  gardener  finds  his 
busiest  time.  All  the  annuals  must  now  be 
lifted  from  the  seed-bed  and  transplanted  to 
the  places  where  they  are  to  grow.  The  young 
plants  must  also  be  taken  out  of  the  hotbeds 
at  this  time,  which  is  a  work  that  can  be 

12 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

done  only  late  in  the  afternoon,  between  four 
and  six  o'clock,  as  the  seedlings  should  have 
the  cool  night  in  which  to  recover  from  the 
operation  of  transplanting.  The  gladioli  and 
tuberoses  must  be  set  out;  the  weeds  which 
grow  over  night  must  have  attention;  the 
grass  must  be  cut  every  three  or  four  days; 
fresh  crops  of  vegetables  mast  be  put  in  the 
vegetable  garden;  and  then,  on  some  fine  day, 
when  everything  seems  to  need  attention, 
the  gardener  insists  that  the  potatoes  must 
be  cultivated,  and  there  come  moments  when 
one  wishes  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
a  vegetable  or  potato  crop  on  the  place. 

The  most  interesting  of  all  gardening  is  in 
the  cultivation  of  herbaceous  plants.  These 
hardy  perennials  bloom  luxuriantly,  give  a 
wide  range  of  color,  and  are  of  varied  heights. 
A  great  landscape  architect  recently  told  me 
that  in  his  opinion  it  required  more  intelli- 
gence and  ability,  even  with  the  assistance  of 
annuals,  to  keep  an  herbaceous  border  effec- 
tive in  color,  and  in  good  condition,  than  to 

13 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

run  an  orchid  house;  he  added  the  remark 
that,  after  trying  new  plants  every  year,  he 
had  found  that  the  list  of  really  desirable  per- 
ennials and  annuals  did  not  greatly  increase. 

In  making  an  herbaceous  border  where 
many  different-colored  plants  are  to  be 
grown,  the  effect  will  be  more  beautiful  if 
white  flowers  in  quantity  are  planted  between 
each  of  the  different  colors,  care  being  taken 
to  allow  a  few  plants  of  the  palest  shade  of 
each  color  to  drift  among  the  white,  so  that 
the  transition  may  be  less  abrupt.  If  a  plan 
of  the  planting  be  made  in  advance,  the  work 
will  be  easier  and  more  successful.  Hetero- 
geneous planting  is  often  painful.  Pink  and 
blue  flowers,  red,  purple,  and  yellow,  must  be 
arranged  to  produce  artistic  effect. 

Larkspurs,  for  instance,  are  far  more  beau- 
tiful when  grown  in  great  masses  of  each  dif- 
ferent shade,  or  with  white  Japanese  iris  and 
Lilium  candidum,  than  in  smaller  clumps  in 
a  border  where  many  other  colored  flowers 
are  planted.  Pale  blue  larkspur  with  the 

14 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

dark  variety,  Formosum,  behind  it,  and  pale 
yellow  coreopsis  and  pale  yellow  calendula  in 
the  foreground,  make  an  attractive  planting. 

Early  one  July,  my  baby  grandson  was 
christened  in  our  quaint  little  church  in  the 
country.  Larkspur,  and  candidum  lilies,  with 
which  I  have  at  last  been  able  to  succeed, — 
both  of  which  flowers  are  so  exquisite  in  the 
garden,  and  so  perishable  when  gathered  that 
one  should  always  cut  them  judiciously, — 
were  in  their  prime  in  wonderful  quantity. 
And,  on  this  great  day,  we  were  able  to  fill 
a  large  clothes-basket  with  the  stalks  of  the 
lilies  and  the  branches  of  the  pale  blue  Del- 
phinium ccdestinum,  and  take  them  to  make 
the  little  church  beautiful,  without  missing 
any  from  the  garden. 

Since  there  have  been  herbaceous  borders 
of  only  one  or  two  colors  in  my  garden,  the 
effect  has  been  more  beautiful  and  the 
arrangement  simplified;  and  this  plan  is 
likely  to  be  adhered  to  for  some  time  to  come. 
But  one  must  always  keep  an  eagle  eye  upon 

15 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

the  borders,  to  be  sure  that  plants  are  not 
allowed  to  go  to  seed;  for  the  best  of  gar- 
deners often  fail  to  realize  that  all  flowers 
will  bloom  much  longer  if  seed-pods  are  kept 
from  forming.  One  of  the  men  does  every 
morning  what  I  call  "  giving  a  fatherly 
touch  to  the  garden."  He  begins  at  one  end 
of  the  place  when  he  first  comes  on  duty,  and 
with  shears  and  basket  goes  through  the 
entire  garden,  taking  off  every  withered 
flower  or  leaf,  thus  preserving  not  only  the 
neatness  of  the  place  but  the  perfection  of 
the  plants.  This,  being  done  regularly,  is 
done  easily,  and  takes  hardly  an  hour  a  day. 

The  white  border  is  my  greatest  delight; 
the  flowers  grown  in  it  are  exquisite  at  night 
as  well  as  in  the  daytime. 

At  the  back  of  the  border  are  Bocconia 
cordata,  the  spireas,  Aruncus  and  Gigantea, 
and  white  hollyhocks.  These  tall  plants  are 
followed  in  September  by  the  mammoth  cos- 
mos, which  is  started  under  glass  to  insure 

16 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

its  blooming  before  frost.  Then  there  are 
Lilium  auratum,  L.  album,  and  L.  candidum, 
which  bloom  from  June  until  frost,  and, 
if  planted  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches 
deep,  seem  to  succeed  far  better  than  with 
shallower  planting.  Tall  spikes  of  Hyacin- 
thus  candicans,  Physostegia  Virginica  alba, 
flowering  in  July  for  a  rfionth,  Achillea, 
which  generously  blooms  the  whole  summer 
through,  white  phlox,  both  early  and  late, 
white  lupins  and  dictamnus,  both  of  which 
bloom  for  a  month  from  the  middle  of  May, 
foxgloves,  Lysimachia  clethroides,  Campanula 
medium,  some  clumps  of  white  Japanese  iris, 
and  the  old-time  valerian,  filling  the  air  with 
its  delicious  perfume  in  May. 

For  annuals,  there  are  stocks,  sweet  sultan, 
the  white  cornflower,  Cyanus  albus,  Empress 
candytuft,  snapdragons,  asters  and  gladioli. 

The  pink  border,  or  indeed  an  entire  garden 
of  pink  flowers,  is  not  difficult  of  attainment. 
Pink  hollyhocks  and  cosmos,  many  shades 
17 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

of  phlox,  Lilium  rubrum,  L.  rubellum,  and  L. 
magnificum,  pink  lupins  which  are  more 
beautiful  than  either  the  white  or  blue  vari- 
eties and  easy  to  raise  from  seed,  Incarvillea 
Delavayi,  Sedum  spectabile,  Canterbury  bells, 
and  some  pink  columbines,  Spiraea  elegans 
and  pink  dictamnus,  should  be  planted  for 
May  blooming. 

Then  the  pink  annual  larkspurs,  camellia- 
flowered  balsams,  which  in  rich  soil  are 
wonderful  plants,  Phlox  Drummondi,  which 
flowers  all  summer  if  not  allowed  to  seed, 
tuberous-rooted  begonias,  each  plant  of  which 
is  a  mass  of  blossoms  for  three  months,  ver- 
benas— glorified  editions  of  the  old-time  ver- 
bena— which  should  be  started  under  glass 
with  the  cosmos,  and,  if  there  is  place  for  them, 
gladioli,  so  necessary  for  bloom  in  September. 

The  blue  border  is  more  unusual,  and, 
although  I  have  visited  many  gardens  in 
many  countries,  I  have  never  seen  a  planta- 
tion of  blue  flowers  only. 

18 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS   OF   FLOWERS 

Larkspurs,  monkshood  in  early  and  late 
varieties,  including  the  light  blue  variety, 
Aconitum  Wilsoni,  Veronica  grandiflora,  platy- 
codon,  the  campanulas,  varieties  Persicifolia, 
Glomerata  and  Pyramidalis,  and  the  lupins, 
are  six  perennials  which  would  alone  keep  a 
blue  border  pronounced  in  color  for  three 
months;  but  when  you  add  colrimbines,  eupa- 
torium,  Anchusa  Italica,  Baptisia  Australis, 
Scabiosa  Caucasica,  blue^  salvia,  Salvia  azurea 
and  Centaurea  Cyanus,  the  wonderful  new  blue 
gladioli,  large-flowering  ageratum  and  lobelia, 
which  are  always  in  bloom,  and  the  faithful 
asters  which,  however,  have  a  violet  tinge,  the 
blue  border  becomes  a  source  of  great  interest. 

A  few  white  flowers,  such  as  white  platy- 
codon,  the  feathery  Bocconia  cordata,  Lilium 
album,  L.  candidum,  and  achillea,  rather  add 
to  the  beauty  of  the  blue  border  and  seem  to 
make  its  color  more  lovely. 

In  the  red  border  are  red  hollyhocks, 
scarlet  lychnis,  Phlox  Coquelicot,  Tritoma 

19 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

Pfitzerii,  the  old-time  monarda  or  bee  balm, 
Pentstemon  barbatus  Torreyii  about  which 
many  continually  ask,  "  What  is  that  beauti- 
ful flower?"  scarlet  Phlox  Drummondi,  the 
scarlet  Gladiolus  Brenchleyensis,  salvia  Bon- 
fire, and  cannas,  and  geraniums  which  may 
be  added  to  carry  out  the  color  scheme. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  other  beauti- 
ful flowers  in  these  four  colors;  but,  after 
several  years  of  experiment,  these  lists  have 
been  found  to  comprise  the  most  satisfactory 
plants  in  simplicity  of  culture  and  the  amount 
of  flowers  they  yield  for  use  in  the  one-color 
border.  As  such  borders  are  for  effect,  flow- 
ers can  be  gathered  from  them  but  sparingly; 
elsewhere  in  the  garden  should  be  grown 
both  perennials  and  annuals  in  rows  like  veg- 
etables, to  supply  flowers  for  cutting. 

Stocks,  both  white  and  pink,  gladioli  in 
the  same  two  colors,  snapdragons,  Lilium 
rubellum  and  L.  speciosum  magnificum  can 
be  successfully  planted  together,  and  if  the 

20 


COLOR    ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

stocks  and  snapdragons  are  started  under 
glass,  they  can,  by  proper  feeding,  be  made  to 
bloom  continually  from  early  in  June  until  ice 
forms.  The  lilies  continue  to  unfold  their 
buds  for  over  a  month,  and  the  gladioli,  if 
two  plantings  of  them  are  made,  will  blossom 
for  a  long  time;  last  summer,  when  grown 
with  other  flowers  in  my  garden,  the  stalks 
of  gladioli  were  over  five  feet  in  height,  evi- 
dencing the  effect  of  rich  soil.  This  height 
also  gave  much  beauty  to  the  plantation. 

White  Japanese  anemones,  white  tuberous- 
rooted  begonias  and  tuberoses,  are  satisfac- 
tory when  grown  together;  and  if  white  May- 
flowering  tulips  be  added,  and  the  begonias 
started  under  glass  in  March,  they  will  begin 
to  bloom  in  June,  so  that  this  white  corner 
will  be  a  constant  delight. 

Poppies  and  sweet  peas  are  the  first  flower 
seeds  to  be  sown  in  the  spring.  It  is  difficult 
to  sow  the  poppy  thinly  enough,  as  every 
seed  seems  to  germinate,  and  the  plants 

21 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

should  be  three  inches  apart,  not  only  in 
order  to  develop  and  produce  more  flowers, 
but  that  they  may  continue  in  bloom  for  a 
longer  period.  Sown  in  large  masses  in  all 
the  many  varieties,  poppies  make  a  wonder- 
ful show  for  three  weeks.  When  the  last 
petals  have  fallen,  if  the  soil  be  enriched  and 
cultivated,  the  poppy  bed  can  again  be  made 
beautiful  by  transplanting  into  it  young  aster 
plants  either  of  all  shades  of  pink  with  white 
in  the  many  varieties,  or  of  purple  and  lav- 
ender shading  through  the  delicate  tones  to 
white.  The  poppy  bed  in  my  garden  is  fifty 
feet  long  and  eighteen  feet  wide,  giving  oppor- 
tunity for  a  fine  mass  of  color. 

Asters,  in  the  catalogues  of  annuals,  are 
what  phlox  and  larkspur  are  in  the  perennial 
family.  Early  in  September,  when  the  asters 
were  really  wonderful  in  my  garden,  and 
there  seemed  to  be  no  end  to  them,  I  asked 
one  of  the  gardeners  how  many  had  been 
transplanted.  His  reply  was,  "  about  ten 
thousand."  As  I  rather  doubted  this  state- 

22 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

ment,  he  showed  me  a  bed  of  young  Canter- 
bury bells  transplanted  for  blooming  next 
summer,  saying  that  he  had  counted  them 
that  morning,  that  there  were  nine  hundred 
plants  in  the  bed,  and  that  it  could  be  seen 
at  a  glance  that  there  were  ten  times  as  many 
asters  then  blooming  in  the  gardens. 

For  those  who  care  for  yellow  and  orange 
flowers,  a  border  of  splendid  color  may  be 
made  by  planting  the  hardy  perennial  sun- 
flowers, both  single  and  double,  helenium  or 
sneeze  weed,  gaillardia,  coreopsis  and  calli- 
opsis,  the  marigolds  and  calendulas  both 
orange  and  yellow,  the  different  varieties  of 
yellow  day  lilies,  the  tritomas,  the  trollius  or 
globe  flower,  the  California  poppies,  and  the 
faithful  nasturtiums.  A  beautiful  combina- 
tion with  the  yellow  and  orange  is  made  by 
adding  purple  and  magenta  flowers,  such  as 
the  tall  liatrus  or  Kansas  gay  feather,  magenta 
dahlias,  the  Verbena  venosa,  the  giant  ruffled 
magenta  petunias  and  dark  magenta  phlox. 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

This  magenta  phlox,  by  the  way,  is  quite  a 
different  color  from  that  which  we  find  in  our 
gardens  grown  from  self-sown  seed,  which  is 
of  a  light  purplish  color.  The  new  magenta 
phloxes  have  large  heads  of  bloom,  as  well 
as  large  individual  blossoms,  and  grow  quite 
four  feet  in  height. 

A  very  effective  color-planting  can  be 
made  by  growing  dark  crimson  snapdragons 
with  a  tall  variety  of  ageratum  and  edging 
the  plantation  with  dwarf  ageratum,  the 
combination  of  blue  and  rich  crimson  being 
unusual. 

There  is  one  flower,  the  petunia,  of  which 
I  must  speak  with  apology  because  of  the 
things  I  have  written  and  said  about  it.  The 
very  name  petunia  calls  to  mind  the  ugly 
white  and  purple  varieties  that  flourished  in 
our  mothers'  gardens;  but,  through  the  skill 
of  the  hybridizer,  the  petunias  today  are 
among  the  most  beautiful  of  all  annuals,  par- 
ticularly the  great  giant  ruffled  and  frilled 
varieties.  The  Snowstorm,  a  flower  with  a 

24 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

golden  heart,  is  a  continual  mass  of  blossoms, 
as  is  also  the  Rosy  Morn,  which  is  pale  pink 
as  its  name  would  indicate.  There  is  an  infi- 
nite number  of  other  varieties,  and  they  help 
us  out  immensely  with  our  color  effects. 

Last  summer,  a  bed  of  heliotrope  surrounded 
with  giant  rufHed  petunias  in  shades  of  lilac 
with  golden  centers  was  continually  beauti- 
ful for  nearly  five  months;  and  a  carpet  of 
Rosy  Morn  petunias,  growing  in  a  bed  where 
Lilium  auratum  and  L.  magnificum  raised 
their  great  stalks  of  lilies,  entirely  concealing 
the  earth,  added  greatly  to  the  effect. 

The  hybridizer  has  worked  wonders,  also, 
with  the  verbenas.  The  new  varieties  form 
trusses  nearly  as  large  as  the  top  of  a  tea-cup, 
and  give  a  continuous  mass  of  color  in  white 
or  pale  rose  until  quite  late  in  the  fall,  as 
they  stand  considerable  frost. 

The  Celosia  plumosa,  or  cockscomb,  has 
become,  through  the  skill  of  the  growers,  a 
wonderful  flower  in  many  colors  besides  the 
old  crimson  variety.  It  grows  about  three 

25 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

feet  in  height,  with  plumes  a  foot  in  length. 
A  brilliant  yellow  and  a  flame  color  are  per- 
haps the  finest.  The  seeds  should  be  started 
in  the  hotbeds,  to  prolong  the  period  of  bloom, 
and  the  seedlings  transplanted  several  times 
before  being  set,  either  in  the  ground,  where 
the  plants  should  be  a  foot  apart, [or  in  six-inch 
pots.  When  a  foot  high,  they  will  be  glad  of 
a  little  bone  meal,  and  during  all  their  bloom- 
ing period  should  be  fed  with  doses  of  liquid 
manure,  at  least  every  two  weeks. 

The  annual  larkspurs,  too,  are  greatly 
improved  in  variety,  and  are  useful  for  cut- 
ting; if  the  seed-pods  are  not  allowed  to 
form,  they  bloom  continuously  all  summer. 

A  bed  of  pale  pink  and  delicate  lavender 
annual  larkspur  is  a  lovely  color  combina- 
tion. 

Godetia,  a  low-growing  plant  about  a  foot 
in  height,  will  thrive  in  poor  soil,  in  a  sunny 
location,  and  is  covered  with  flowers — pink, 
white,  crimson,  and  of  every  color,  splashed 
with  white. 

26 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

Salpiglossis,  in  its  many  colors,  also  blooms 
continually.  It  does  rather  better  if  started 
in  a  hotbed,  and  the  plants  should  be  set 
about  eight  inches  apart. 

Schizanthus,  which  also  has  flowers  of  pink, 
white,  rose  and  crimson,  is  continually  in 
blossom.  It  is  a  delicate,  dainty  plant,  and 
perhaps  best  suited  for  pot-culture.  By 
sowing  the  seeds  in  March,  frequently  trans- 
planting until  they  are  finally  set  in  an  eight- 
inch  pot,  these  plants  will  reward  one  for  the 
trouble  given  them,  and,  as  they  are  yet  but 
little  grown,  excite  much  interest. 

As  we  live  with  our  gardens,  plantings 
which  once  were  entirely  satisfactory  cease 
in  time  to  be  all  that  we  could  wish;  and  we 
experiment  and  devise  other  arrangements, 
and  generally  find  the  changes  make  for 
improvement.  Such  a  radical  change  was 
made  in  my  little  rose  garden,  where  formerly 
the  beds  were  carpeted  with  pansies,  and  a 
border  which  surrounded  it  was  edged  with 
pink  and  white  sweet  william.  Back  of  this 

27 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

border,  and  surrounding  the  whole  garden,  is 
a  hedge  of  pink  and  white  altheas,  which  has 
now  grown  so  high  that  the  garden  is  quite 
hidden  from  view.  The  rich  soil  used  for  the 
roses,  with  the  frequent  watering,  stimu- 
lated both  pansies  and  sweet  william  to  great 
effort.  Their  blossoms  added  to  the  color  of 
the  garden,  and  I  was  secretly  much  pleased 
with  the  effect. 

One  day  in  mid-June,  when  the  little  rose 
garden  was  in  perfection  of  bloom,  my 
daughter  critically  remarked  at  luncheon, 
"I  do  not  like  those  pansies  and  other 
things  in  the  rose-garden;  everything  there 
should  grow  up  straight  and  neatly,  and  it 
is  not  bad  if  the  earth  is  seen  between  the 
plants."  Criticisms  made  by  one's  children 
are  trying,  but  sometimes  appropriate.  Most 
of  that  afternoon  I  spent  in  the  rose  garden, 
visited  it  again  in  the  evening,  and  slept 
little  during  that  night  thinking  the  matter 
over.  It  seemed  cruel  to  drag  out  all  those 
beautiful  blooming  plants.  But  by  morning 

28 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

I  had  decided  to  make  the  change;  so,  com- 
ing down  very  early,  I  found  the  gardener, 
went  with  him  to  the  garden,  and  gave 
directions  that  every  pansy  and  sweet 
william  be  pulled  up,  the  beds  and  borders 
edged,  and  that  all  must  be  done  neatly 
and  immaculately  before  the  men  went  to 
dinner. 

Then  I  fled,  to  return  only  after  my  orders 
had  been  carried  out.  At  first  the  little  gar- 
den seemed  bare  and  shorn  of  much  beauty. 
But  the  daughter's  criticism  proved  to  be 
right,  and  now  only  gladioli  grow  among  the 
roses,  while  all  along  the  edge  of  the  border 
is  a  row  of  tall  tuberoses,  which  grow  three 
feet  in  height  with  heads  of  bloom  a  foot  in 
length,  and  perfume  the  night  air  deliciously. 
Every  one  approves  the  change. 

We  often  reproach  ourselves  for  fickleness 
when  we  find  that  we  regard  with  aversion 
people  whom  we  have  long  known  and  liked, 
because,  in  the  lapse  of  years,  they  seem  to 
have  acquired  unpleasant  peculiarities,  for- 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

getting  that  we  may  ourselves  have  changed. 
May  we  not  reproach  ourselves  equally  when 
ceasing  to  care  for  plants  which  once  we 
prized?  Three  flowers  dear  to  me  ten  years 
ago  I  now  entirely  dislike;  the  crimson  ram- 
bler rose,  rudbeckia  and  Hydrangea  grandi- 
flora.  The  rudbeckia  has  been  cast  out  of 
the  garden.  Nearly  all  of  the  crimson  ram- 
bler roses  have  been  taken  up,  leaving  only 
a  few  arches  and  a  short  trellis  of  them,  and 
the  Pink  Dorothy  Perkins  has  been  substi- 
tuted; but  a  long  hedge  of  hydrangeas  still 
remain,  although  I  now  exclude  them  from  my 
vision,  and  regard  them  as  if  they  did  not  exist. 
These  brave  plants  are  so  hardy  and  free- 
blooming  that  they  have  found  a  place  from 
one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  and  are 
grown  every  where,  yet,  because  of  their  very 
merits  which  made  them  so  universally 
grown,  they  have  become  distasteful  to  many. 

A  beautiful  plantation  for  August  and  Sep- 
tember is  of  pink  and  white  summer-flower- 

30 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

ing  cosmos,  pink  and  white  Japanese  anemo- 
nes, and  pink  and  white  asters;  such  a  border, 
in  the  garden  of  a  relative,  was,  for  quite  six 
weeks,  beautiful  beyond  my  power  to  de- 
scribe. The  same  flowers  could  be  used, 
either  all  white  or  all  pink,  and  would  be  an 
equally  good  arrangement. 

This  same  relative  makes  a  specialty  of  her 
spring  garden.  Living  all  the  year  in  the 
country,  she  has  the  great  joy  of  watching 
the  wonderful  phases  of  nature, — clouds,  sun- 
light and  shadow, — and  knows  the  magic  of 
the  changing  seasons.  For  six  weeks  in  the 
spring  her  garden  seems  as  if  touched  by  a 
fairy  wand,  so  exquisite  are  its  colors. 

It  is  not  large,  and  much  of  the  work  is 
done  by  her  own  hands.  She  is  indefatigable 
in  having  her  borders  made  over  at  the  proper 
intervals  and  in  keeping  the  soil  in  good 
condition.  When,  in  the  autumn,  a  border  is 
re-made  and  the  perennials  planted,  the  bulbs 
are  then  set  and  remain  until  the  border  is 
again  taken  up.  The  bulbs  are  planted  from 

31 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

four  to  six  inches  deep,  and,  at  the  end  of 
May  or  first  of  June,  annuals  are  planted 
over  and  about  them.  The  planting  is  so 
close  that  it  remains  a  mystery  to  me  how 
a  trowel  can  ever  be  put  into  the  soil 
without  cutting  a  bulb. 

In  the  border  where,  later,  larkspur,  vale- 
rian, Anchusa  Italica  and  blue  annuals 
bloom,  there  are,  in  early  spring,  the  large 
white  crocus  and  the  lovely  blue  scilla. 

In  a  yellow  border,  the  daffodils,  Emperor 
and  Empress,  are  followed  by  early  single 
yellow  tulips  and  late  double  yellow  tulips. 

The  borders  on  either  side  of  a  path  are 
filled  with  early  white  tulips,  to  be  followed 
by  the  Cottage  Maid,  which  is  pale  pink.  As 
the  petals  of  the  pale  pink  tulip  fall,  the  late- 
blooming  Isabella,  a  large,  double  pink  tulip 
almost  as  large  as  a  peony,  comes  into  flower, 
and  is  in  turn  followed  by  the  exquisite 
Picotee,  which  remains  in  bloom  for  nearly 
three  weeks,  and  is,  at  first,  white  faintly 
tinged  with  pink,  becoming  at  last  almost  a 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

light  American  Beauty  rose  color.  Along  the 
edge  of  this  border  Narcissus  albus  plenus 
odoratus  and  N.  poeticus  odoratus  are  grown 
in  two  rows. 

Another  border  is  filled  with  the  scarlet 
and  white  Pottebakker  tulips,  and  edged  with 
Narcissus  poeticus. 

Still  another  border  contains  Sulphur 
Phoenix  daffodils  in  pale  yellow  and  white, 
with  the  bright  yellow^  Emperor,  hyacinths 
in  pale  blue,  blush-pink  and  white,  and  is 
also  edged  with  Narcissus  poeticus. 

A  very  lovely  pink  and  yellow  border  is 
filled  with  early  and  late  varieties  of  daffo- 
dils and  early  and  late  pink  tulips. 

All  these  bulbs  are  planted  by  the  thou- 
sands, and  the  quantity  of  flowers  and  length 
of  bloom  with  the  arrangement  of  colors, 
make  this  spring  garden  far  more  beautiful 
than  the  best  I  have  ever  seen  elsewhere. 

Some  suggestions  for  color-planting  are: 
Ageratum,  variety,  Princess   Pauline,  in  a 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

bed  edged  with  sweet  alyssum,  variety,  Car- 
pet of  Snow,  both  of  which  must  be  slightly 
trimmed  from  time  to  time,  to  be  kept 
blooming. 

Scarlet  verbena,  Defiance,  in  beds  edged 
with  the  same  sweet  alyssum. 

Lobelia  fulgens,  variety,  Queen  Victoria, 
having  scarlet  flowers  with  bronze  foliage, 
the  bed  being  edged  with  Centaurea  gymno- 
carpa,  which  is  a  silvery  white  plant. 

Browallia,  speciosa  major  which  is  deep 
blue  in  color,  grown  with  dwarf  yellow  snap- 
dragons. 

Tagetes,  a  very  dwarf  yellow  and  brown 
marigold,  grown  with  heliotrope  of  some 
large-flowering  dwarf  variety  of  dark  color. 

Snowstorm  petunia  and  ageratum,  variety, 
Princess  Pauline. 

Petunias  in  all  shades  of  magenta  and 
magenta  splashed  with  white,  with  calendu- 
las growing  back  of  them,  and  behind  the 
calendulas  African  marigolds. 

A  quantity  of  the  nicotianas  planted  to- 
34 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS   OF  FLOWERS 

gether  with  N.  affinis,  white;  N.  Sanderce 
hybrids  of  many  colors  with  N.  sylvestris, 
white;  red  tuberous-rooted  begonias  with 
lobelia,  Crystal  Palace,  deep  blue. 

Canna,  President  Meyer,  of  a  bright  red, 
with  bronze  foliage,  growing  four  feet  high, 
planted  with  Impatiens  Sultani,  surrounding 
them. 

Draccena  indivisa,  with  Rosy  Morn  petunia. 

Pennisetum,  the  purple  fountain  grass, 
planted  with  the  orchid-flowered  Canna, 
Wyoming,  which  bears  immense  spikes  of 
orange  flowers  and  has  bronze  foliage. 

The  literature  in  all  languages  upon  gar- 
dening, and  the  references  to  gardens  in 
poetry  and  prose,  both  ancient  and  modern, 
as  cultivated,  restful,  romantic  and  beautiful 
places,  is  infinite.  In  the  Old  Testament 
many  allusions  are  to  be  found.  We  read  of 
"  the  garden  of  nuts,"  "  the  garden  of  herbs," 
and  "  the  garden  of  cucumbers." 

It  is  a  fancy  of  many  women  today  to  have 
an  herb  garden,  but  the  cucumber,  in  the 

35 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

time  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  who  speaks  of  a 
lodge  in  a  garden  of  cucumbers,  and  of 
Baruch,  who  says  "  like  a  scarecrow  in  a  gar- 
den of  cucumber,  which  keepeth  nothing 
away,"  must  have  been  a  different  vegetable 
from  the  one  we  now  cultivate  under  that 
name. 

We  read  that  "  the  garden  causeth  the 
things  that  are  sown  in  it  to  spring  forth," 
and  the  similes,  "  as  gardens  by  the  river- 
side," and  "  like  a  watered  garden,"  are 
refreshing  mental  pictures  to  those  who  know 
the  heat  and  dryness  of  the  East. 

Every  garden  has  its  particular  charm, 
and  rarely  is  one  to  be  seen  from  which  we 
can  turn  without  having  gained  some  new 
idea  of  color  arrangement,  of  certain  plants 
in  wonderful  perfection,  or  of  something 
which  gives  delight  and  inspiration.  The 
little  gardens  about  laborers'  cottages,  where 
the  few  flowers  mean  so  much  to  the  man  or 
woman  who  cares  for  them  in  moments  before 
or  after  a  long  day's  toil,  touch  the  heart  as 

36 


COLOR   ARRANGEMENTS    OF   FLOWERS 

no  great  gardens  can,  although  the  latter 
may  be  more  complete  with  all  that  nature 
and  art  combined  are  able  to  accomplish. 
Every  lover  of  flowers  has  her  own  ideas 
upon  the  subject  of  gardening.  My  ideal 
garden  is  one  a  little  distance  from  the  house, 
and  so  surrounded  by  trees  and  enclosed  by 
hedges  that  the  windows  of  the  house  cannot 
look  down  upon  it; — a  lovely  out-of-doors 
room,  as  it  were,  neat  and  orderly  like  the 
rooms  of  the  house,  where  every  plant  is 
brought  to  its  highest  development  and 
nature  trained  by  man  gives  constant  and 
luxuriant  bloom,  where  the  green  setting  of 
trees,  hedges,  box-edging  and  fine  turf,  and 
the  colors  blending  without  a  jarring  note, 
fill  one  with  a  sense  of  delight  and  thanks- 
giving for  the  beauty  of  the  spot;  a  place 
where  one  may  walk  or  talk,  read  or  work, 
quite  unobserved,  with  the  sunshine  all 
around,  yet  seated  in  cool  shade,  and  with 
the  murmuring  of  falling  water  and  the 
exquisite  notes  of  the  song  sparrow,  or  the 

37 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER  GARDEN 

liquid  call  of  the  catbird  in  one's  ears.  Where 
on  this  earth  can  any  place  be  found  more 
exquisite  and  peaceful?  Into  such  a  garden 
Maud  may  have  been  called  by  her  lover, 
and  to  such  a  little  Paradise  Solomon  may 
have  referred  in  his  Songs  of  Songs  where  he 
sings  of  a  "  garden  enclosed." 


38 


SOME  GREEN  THINGS  OF 
THE  EARTH 


CHAPTER  II 

SOME  GREEN  THINGS  OF  THE  EARTH 

PTH  HE  chief  beauty  of  any  country  place, 
whether  it  be  but  an  acre  in  extent  or 
a  great  estate,  will  always  consist  in  its  trees 
and  evergreens,  its  shrubs,  hedges  and  lawns. 
A  country  place  may  be  entirely  beautiful 
where  no  flowers  are  grown,  if  the  trees  and 
shrubbery  are  well  planted  and  the  lawns  are 
in  fine  condition;  but  house  and  garden,  how- 
ever well  arranged,  will  fail  greatly  in  attrac- 
tion if  the  setting  which  surrounds  them  is 
unworthy. 

The  making  of  lawns  is  a  subject  demand- 
ing a  book  by  itself,  and  excellent  books  have 
been  written  giving  all  possible  information 
for  those  who  wish  to  make  their  lawns  or 
grass  paths.  It  is  therefore  my  purpose  to 
give  only  my  own  experiences  in  keeping  the 
grass  in  good  condition. 

41 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

When  a  person  has  once  become  interested 
in  preserving  the  turf  about  her  place,  it  will 
be  found  a  most  engrossing,  and  delightful 
occupation.  Until  this  interest  is  aroused, 
many  who  are  really  excellent  flower  or  vege- 
table gardeners  may  be  both  ignorant  of  the 
care  of  the  grass  and  unobservant  of  its  con- 
dition. A  man  who  was  an  excellent  flower 
gardener  once  said  to  me,  "  I  do  not  bother 
with  the  grass  except  to  keep  it  cut;  so  long 
as  there  is  'something  green,'  I  am  satisfied." 
Probably  the  "something  green"  was  in  his 
case,  as  in  many  others,  composed  of  chicory, 
moss,  plantain,  dandelion  and  sparse  grass. 
Where  the  turf  is  thick  and  fine,  there  is  not 
much  place  for  weeds  to  root,  and  on  a  fine 
surface  of  grass  a  weed  is  immediately  appar- 
ent to  the  watchful  eye. 

Many  professional  gardeners,  as  well  as 
those  who  are  amateurs,  seem  to  think  that 
if  in  winter  they  scatter  over  the  lawn  man- 
ure, which  is  often  crude  and  raw  from  not 
being  sufficiently  decomposed,  therefore  hav- 

42 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF   THE   EARTH 

•v 

ing  in  it  many  seeds  of  weeds, — if  they  rake 
this  off  in  the  spring  and  then  put  the  lawn- 
mower  to  work,  regardless  of  dry  weather,  or 
whether  the  lawn  may  be  so  burned  by 
drought  that  there  is  really  no  grass  to  mow, 
they  have  done  all  that  is  needed.  We  have, 
all  of  us,  I  fancy,  seen  men  mowing  sun- 
burned lawns,  and  wondered  why  they  were 
doing  so — and  also  watering  the  grass  at  a 
time  and  in  ways  which  were  more  harmful 
than  not.  It  requires  a  great  deal  of  water 
to  wet  sod  even  one  inch  in  depth;  and,  when 
only  the  top  of  the  earth  is  wet,  the  roots  of 
the  grass,  instead  of  sinking  deeper,  as  they 
should,  come  to  the  surface  to  find  the  moist- 
ure, with  the  result  that  any  grass  so  treated 
will  eventually  become  burned. 

The  lawn  that  has  been  properly  put  down 
in  the  first  instance  is  not  difficult  to  keep  in 
excellent  condition,  and  with  even  slight  care 
its  yearly  improvement  should  be  great  and 
continuous.  Early  in  the  spring  the  ground 
should  be  gone  over  carefully  and  every 

43 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

weed  taken  out  by  the  roots.  These  will  be 
found  to  be  mostly  dandelions  and  plantain. 
When  the  weeds  have  been  taken  out,  the 
workman,  who  should  have  a  box  of  grass 
seed  by  his  side,  should  put  a  pinch  of 
seed  into  the  hole  where  the  weed  has  been 
and  press  the  sod  well  down.  When  the 
whole  lawn  has  been  thus  gone  over,  it  is 
well  then  to  sow  seed  thinly  broadcast  and 
roll  it  in  thoroughly.  Two  men  can  push  a 
three-hundred-and -fifty-pound  roller,  which 
is  heavy  enough  to  keep  the  grass  in  good 
condition.  Sufficient  emphasis  cannot  be 
laid  upon  the  advisability  of  frequent  rolling 
for  the  grass.  The  roots,  which  have  been 
disturbed  by  thawing  and  freezing  or  long 
drought,  are  thus  firmly  set  in  the  earth,  and 
the  whole  surface  of  the  lawn  made  compact 
and  even. 

When  the  newly  sown  grass  seed  has  ger- 
minated and  the  young  grass  is  a  couple  of 
inches  high,  cottonseed  meal  can  be  sown 
broadcast  with  great  advantage.  This  may 

44 


ONE  OF  THE  LONG  GRASS  PATHS 


•  •      •••.*•• 

••  ••••»*»* 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF   THE    EARTH 

•v 

be  sown  so  that  the  grass  has  a  yellow  look; 
in  case  no  rain  follows  within  a  day,  the  hose 
should  be  attached  to  the  sprinklers  and  the 
water  turned  on  so  that  the  cottonseed  meal 
is  at  once  watered  into  the  roots  of  the  new 
grass.  I  was  first  told  of  the  benefit  of  cot- 
tonseed meal  to  grass  about  ten  years  ago  by 
a  gentleman  who  sat  next  to  me  at  dinner. 
He  told  me,  to  my  great  surprise,  that  it 
would  make  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where 
only  one  had  been  before,  and  during  all 
these  ten  years  I  have  used  it  on  my  own 
lawns  and  paths  to  the  greatest  advantage. 
In  fact,  some  seasons  my  men  have  asked  me 
not  to  use  it,  for  it  causes  such  a  growth  that 
if  there  is  sufficient  rain  during  the  spring 
the  grass  must  be  mown  every  three  days. 

About  May  1st,  a  further  tonic  may  be  given 
to  the  lawn  by  sowing  broadcast  finely 
ground  bone  meal  and  wood  ashes  mixed 
together,  equal  parts  of  each  to  the  bushel, 
and  sown  so  as  to  give  the  lawn  a  light  gray 
color.  This  should  be  again  watered  in  and 

45 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

rolled.  About  a  ton  of  cottonseed  meal  to 
the  acre,  and  the  same  quantity  of  the  bone 
meal  and  wood  ashes  mixture,  may  be  used 
to  advantage. 

This  treatment  should  carry  the  lawns  and 
grass  paths  through  even  our  hot  and  dry 
summers;  and  if  there  are  places  worn  by 
much  use,  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  soda — one 
pound  of  nitrate  to  forty  gallons  of  water — 
can  be  applied,  which  will  have  an  immedi- 
ate effect.  This  must  also  be  thoroughly 
watered  in  should  there  not  be  rain  within 
twenty-four  hours  after  its  application. 

Another  excellent  tonic  for  the  grass  is  hen 
manure  mixed  with  earth,  equal  parts  of 
each,  and  scattered  over  the  grass  at  the 
rate  of  a  bushel  of  the  mixture  for  about  a 
thousand  square  feet  of  surface.  This  also 
will  produce  great  growth. 

Sometimes,  in  August,  if  the  lawn  looks  a 
little  worn  and  badly,  it  may  be  given 
another  dose  of  the  cottonseed  meal,  which 
must  again  be  watered  in  thoroughly. 

46 


SOME   GREEN  THINGS   OF  THE   EARTH 

Along  towards  the  end  of  June  and  in  July, 
crab  grass  and  orchard  grass  appear,  both  of 
which  are  coarse  in  quality  and  rusty  in 
color;  these  grasses  seed  themselves  and 
spread  rapidly  over  large  areas.  They  must 
be  dug  or  pulled  up  ruthlessly,  roots  and  all 
at  once,  for  if  allowed  to  remain,  they  would 
entirely  ruin  a  lawn  in  three  years'  time. 
The  bare  places  can  be  re-sodded  or  sown 
with  grass  seed,  the  smaller  areas  being  pref- 
erably sodded.  It  is  only  by  keeping  careful 
watch,  and  exterminating  these  horrid  grasses 
upon  their  first  appearance,  that  they  may 
be  kept  out  of  our  lawns. 

In  October,  the  grass  should  be  gone  over 
again  most  carefully  and  all  the  weeds 
removed.  There  will  probably  be  many 
young  dandelions,  the  seeds  of  which  were 
blown  in  from  neighboring  fields.  These  must 
be  rooted  out.  If  moss  and  sorrel  appear, 
it  is  a  sure  sign  that  the  ground  is  sour 
and  needs  lime,  which  should  then  be 
spread  over  the  ground  broadcast  during  the 

47 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

winter,  one  bushel  to  a  thousand  feet  of 
surface. 

The  finest  grass  of  all  for  lawns  is  the  Ken- 
tucky blue.  It  thrives  anywhere  north  of 
Georgia  upon  any  soil  not  acid,  and  if  there 
is  acidity  it  can  be  corrected  either  by  the 
winter-sown  lime  or  by  incorporating  the 
proper  amount  of  lime  with  the  soil  when 
making  the  lawn.  One  understands  how  this 
grass  derives  its  name,  for  its  color  in  early 
morning  and  at  sunset,  when  the  light  is 
level,  is  nearly  as  blue  as  the  foliage  of  the 
Retinispora  squarrosa.  This  grass  gradually 
takes  the  place  of  the  other  grasses  sown 
with  it,  and  the  whole  area  becomes  of  one 
color  and  texture. 

For  years  I  have  used,  with  great  success, 
a  mixture  composed  of  one-third  each  to  the 
bushel,  of  Kentucky  blue  grass,  red  top  and 
Rhode  Island  bent,  and  have  recommended 
it  to  many  of  my  friends,  who  have  found  it 
most  satisfactory.  It  is  particularly  thriving 
in  a  limestone  region.  Where  the  soil  is 

48 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS    OF  THE   EARTH 

sandy,  a  mixture  of  Kentucky  blue  grass, 
twenty-five  per  cent;  creeping  bent,  thirty 
per  cent;  Rhode  Island  bent,  thirty  per  cent, 
and  fine-leaved  fescue,  fifteen  per  cent,  is 
recommended  by  Leonard  Barron,  an  expert 
on  the  care  and  making  of  lawns.  The  creep- 
ing bent  and  fine -leaved  fescue  produce 
quickly -growing,  binding  grasses  that  with- 
stand drought.  Mr.  Barron  recommends  the 
same  mixture  for  sea-side  lawns,  substituting 
beach  grass  for  the  fine-leaved  fescue.  Mr. 
Samuel  Parsons,  the  well-known  landscape 
architect,  told  me  that  there  were  certain 
shady  places  in  Trinity  Churchyard,  New 
York,  rarely  reached  by  the  sun,  where  it 
had  been  almost  impossible  to  get  grass  to 
grow,  but  that  he  had  succeeded  in  getting  a 
fine  turf  with  wood  meadow  grass — (Poa  nem- 
oralis), — having  first  spread  over  the  surface  a 
couple  of  inches  of  fine  humus  or  leaf-mold. 
This  wood  meadow  grass  will  thrive  in  shady 
places  where  almost  no  other  grass  can  be 
made  to  grow. 

49 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

An  attractive  treatment  for  very  shady 
walks  is  made  by  laying  flat,  irregular  stones 
as  stepping-stones,  the  sides  of  the  rows  of 
stones  to  be  quite  uneven,  and  the  spaces 
filled  with  moss,  rock  fern  and  other  rock 
plants. 

For  the  last  three  years  there  has  been 
drought  in  our  part  of  the  country,  and  hun- 
dreds of  people  have  tramped  over  my  grass 
paths,  which  are  never  watered;  but  the  grass 
has  resisted  the  drought  wonderfully,  and  the 
turf  remains  thick  and  green.  During  dry 
weather  the  grass  is  allowed  to  grow  rather 
long,  being  mown  only  every  two  weeks  or 
so,  and  in  August  it  is  helped  along  with 
more  cottonseed  meal  or  the  wood  ashes 
and  bone  meal  mixture. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  mow  the  lawn  too  early 
in  the  spring,  as  the  grass  does  better  during 
the  summer  if  allowed  to  become  five  or  six 
inches  high  before  the  first  mowing,  and  after 
October  it  should  not  be  cut  at  all. 

Lawns  in  England  are  preserved  for  gener- 
50 


SOME   GREEN  THINGS   OF  THE   EARTH 

ations  by  rolling  and  cutting  and  keeping 
them  free  from  weeds,  with  constant  addi- 
tions of  seed  and  fertilizer.  In  this  country, 
through  carelessness  and  ignorance,  and  espe- 
cially through  improper  preparation  of  the 
soil  in  making  lawns,  it  is  necessary  to  "take 
them  up,"  as  the  gardener  expresses  it,  and 
make  them  over  frequently.  The  end  of 
August,  or  September  1st,  and  very  early  in 
spring,  are  the  best  seasons  for  making  a 
lawn.  If  a  new  lawn  or  grass-path  is  made 
in  late  August,  or  early  in  September, — the 
only  time  in  the  autumn  when  it  is  safe  to 
sow  grass  seed, — it  should  be  given  a  slight 
protection  of  straw,  corn-stalks,  or  old  ma- 
nure, before  the  ground  freezes.  Then,  in  the 
spring,  when  this  is  raked  off,  some  seed 
should  be  thinly  sown  and  the  whole  very 
thoroughly  rolled. 

My  own  experience  in  making  lawns  has 
taught  me  that  the  grass  sown  in  late  sum- 
mer gives  a  far  better  result  the  following 
year  than  the  spring-made  lawn.  On  August 

51 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

26th,  last  year,  seed  was  sown  on  a  grass-path 
that  had  never  been  made  but  had  just 
grown.  The  ground  was  uneven  and  the 
path  needed  grading.  The  sod  was  so  good, 
however,  that  it  was  a  wrench  to  take  it  up, 
and  I  fled  from  the  place  during  the  opera- 
tion. Upon  my  return,  a  week  after  the  grass 
seed  had  been  sown,  I  found  a  broad,  level 
path,  already  colored  with  a  faint  tinge  of 
green.  Although  the  drought  was  extreme, 
enough  water  was  forthcoming  to  wet  the 
ground  every  other  day  at  sunset.  Two  or 
three  blessed  showers,  each  of  an  hour's  dur- 
ation, saved  the  grass  at  critical  periods,  and, 
on  September  19th,  less  than  four  weeks  after 
sowing,  the  grass  had  become  so  long  that  it 
was  necessary  to  mow  it,  the  knives  of  the 
machine  being  set  very  high. 

The  first  week  in  September,  two  years 
ago,  seed  was  sown  on  a  grass-walk  twenty 
feet  wide,  which  winds  for  four  hundred  feet 
up  a  hill  on  a  gentle  curve,  and  ends  at  the 
top  in  a  circle  fifty  feet  across.  The  grass 

52 


SOME    GREEN   THINGS   OF   THE   EARTH 

•* 

was  watered  daily,  and  by  the  end  of  October 
there  was  a  fair  turf  on  the  walk,  'notwith- 
standing the  dry  autumn.  The  walk  and  the 
circle  are  bordered  by  cedar  trees,  from  eight 
to  ten  feet  high,  which  have  been  set  touch- 
ing each  other.  Just  inside  the  line  of  cedar 
trees,  a  border  about  four  feet  wide  has  been 
made,  which  is  planted  with  hardy  things 
that  thrive  without  -other  attention  than 
keeping  the  weeds  from  choking  them.  In 
"proud  pied  April,"  daffodils,  jonquils  and 
narcissi  wind  like  a  golden  ribbon  through 
the  grass  at  the  feet  of  the  dark  cedars. 
Many-hued  columbines  follow  the  daffodils, 
and,  toward  the  end  of  May,  single  Japanese 
peonies  unfold  their  lovely  petals ;  the  peo- 
nies, being  both  early  and  late  varieties,  yield 
their  blossoms  for  three  weeks.  Later,  there 
rise  the  tall  bocconia  (Nicotiana  sylvestris),  or 
common  tobacco,  with  its  fragrant  white 
flowers,  and  the  tasselled  "  Lady's  Riding 
Whip."  Here  also  the  Gaillardia  grandiflora 
has  found  a  home.  But  the  cedar  walk  is 

53 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

seen  in  its  glory  in  September  and  October, 
when  the  great  starwort  family  is  in  its 
prime ;  and  there  are  clumps  of  these  flowers 
in  each  shade  from  dark  purple  to  pale  lilac, 
and  white  to  crimson,  with  sumach  and  feath- 
ery white  boltonia  in  among  them,  lining  all 
the  sides  of  the  walk.  Last  autumn,  in  late 
September,  a  visitor  standing  at  the  lower  end 
of  this  cedar  walk  and  looking  up  at  the  green 
pathway  enclosed  by  the  cedars,  with  the 
hardy  asters  in  their  many  shades,  and  the 
brilliant  sumach,  all  together  giving  a  wonder- 
ful color  effect,  exclaimed,  "  What  a  beautiful 
autumn  garden!" 

In  the  circle  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  I  hope 
some  day  to  build  a  small,  white,  circular  sum- 
mer-house, in  the  form  of  a  tiny  temple, 
where,  in  late  afternoon,  one  'may  sit  and  look 
over  a  long  valley  where  the  hills  rise  in  every 
direction,  and  watch  the  sunset  lights  and  the 
falling  twilight;  or,  in  the  summer  evenings, 
may  climb  the  hill  when  the  full  moon  clothes 
the  earth  with  matchless  beauty,  and  the 

54 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF  THE   EARTH 

x. 

scent  of  flowers  from  the  garden  below  rises 
to  perfume  the  air,  and  only  the  myriad 
insect  voices  of  the  night  break  the  solemn 
stillness. 

For  years  to  come,  however,  there  will  be 
work  without  end  to  be  done  on  the  cedar 
walk:  [the  grass  must  be  kfept  free  from 
weeds,  if  a  tree  dies  it  must  be  replaced,  and 
there  will  always  be  space  for  more  daffodils 
and  hardy  plants.  The  cedar  walk  is  also  an 
exquisite  spot  on  a  winter's  day,  when  the 
color  of  the  trees  against  the  sky  and  the  snow 
is  more  intense  than  at  any  other  time,  and 
the  quiet  and  shelter  afforded  by  their  pro- 
tecting walls  of  green  make  of  this  long  walk 
a  grateful  refuge. 

The  sod  nursery  is  a  necessary  requisite  on 
a  country  place  of  any  size.  Sodding  of  large 
areas  is  to  be  avoided,  because  of  the  expense 
in  buying  the  sod  and  laying  it,  and  also 
because  the  turf  is  seldom  so  satisfactory  on 
a  large  surface,  when  sodded,  as  if  grown  from 
seed.  Yet  the  need  of  sod  is  a  matter  of  fre- 

55 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

quent  occurrence,  either  to  border  paths,  or 
to  set  into  the  lawn  in  spots  where  wild 
grasses  have  been  taken  out,  or  to  cover  the 
place  where  a  discarded  flower-bed  has  been, 
or  where  the  turf  has  become  worn  out 
through  use. 

For  years  we  have  taken  the  sod  needed 
for  these  purposes  from  a  field  called  the 
"  night  pasture  lot,"  where  the  herd  is 
turned  at  night.  The  field  contains  about 
fifteen  acres;  a  slender,  cold  brook  bordered 
with  water-cress,  the  outlet  of  a  spring,  winds 
through  it,  and  white-trunked  sycamores  and 
ancient  elms  give  it  great  beauty.  The  field 
has  probably  never  been  ploughed,  and  the 
natural  grass  is  fine  and  thick.  The  most 
distant  corner  of  the  lot  is  chosen,  and  the 
sod  is  lifted  with  a  prayer  to  the  gods  of  the 
garden  that  the  farmer-husband  may  not 
discover  the  deed;  but,  alas!  his  eagle  eye 
always  lights  upon  the  bare  spots  before  new 
grass  is  grown. 

Even  this  fine,  close  native  grass  is  differ- 
56 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF   THE   EARTH 

ent  in  color  and  texture  from  the  Kentucky 
blue  grass  used  in  the  garden,  and  the  sodded 
places  can  be  discerned  by  a  close  observer. 
At  last,  therefore,  though  late  in  time,  a  sod 
nursery  has  been  started,  quite  small  to 
begin  with,  about  fifty  feet  square.  The  earth 
was  prepared  in  the  same  manner  as  if  a  lawn 
were  to  be  made,  was  rolled  and  watered, 
and  is  kept  mown  and  given  the  same  care  as 
the  lawns  and  paths.  As  sod  is  removed  from 
time  to  time,  fertilizer  is  raked  in  and  more 
seed  sown,  and  thus  the  sod  nursery  will  be 
continually  renewed.  As  it  takes  about  two 
years  before  the  sod  is  sufficiently  firm  for 
use,  whoever  is  making  a  new  place  should 
lose  no  time  in  preparing  the  sod-nursery, 
that  sod  may  be  ready  when  needed. 

When  cedar  trees  are  transplanted,  if 
heavy,  flat  stones  are  placed  on  the  ground 
close  around  the  trunks  of  the  trees  and  over 
the  roots,  they  will  not  only  aid  in  holding 
the  tree  firmly  in  the  ground  but  also  help 

57 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

greatly  in  retaining  the  precious  moisture. 
On  my  place,  the  cedar  trees,  after  being 
transplanted,  were  formerly  tied  to  stout 
stakes,  and  kept  so  tied  for  at  least  a  year, 
until  a  friend,  whose  transplanted  cedars 
always  live,  told  me  of  this  use  of  flat 
stones,  which  we  have  since  found  most 
effective. 

One  day,  when  looking  at  the  wonderful 
cedars  this  friend  had  successfully  trans- 
planted, I  ventured  to  remark,  ' ( You  cer- 
tainly do  have  great  luck  with  cedars."  He 
gave  me  a  scornful  look  and  answered, 
"Luck,  indeed !  I  give  the  most  minute 
attention  when  digging  up  the  trees  to  pre- 
serve the  roots  intact,  to  make  the  hole  to 
receive  the  tree  large  enough,  to  have  the 
earth  fine  and  free  from  stones,  and  then 
closely  packed  in  about  the  roots  after  the 
tree  is  set,  to  have  the  stones  properly  placed, 
to  keep  the  tree  firm  and  the  roots  moist, — 
do  you  call  all  this  luck?  "  Of  course  there 
was  no  reply  whatever  from  me. 

58 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF  THE   EARTH 

X. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  most 
of  the  box  edging  sold  by  dealers  in  this 
country  is  imported  from  Europe,  every  year, 
in  the  early  spring.  Much  of  it  comes  from 
France,  and  none  of  it  seems  to  be  able  to 
resist  our  changeable  winter  climate.  After 
losing  large  quantities  of  box  edging  every 
winter  for  years,  I  have  discovered  a  way 
of  preserving  it  through  our  constantly  ris- 
ing and  falling  temperatures. 

Late  in  November,  the  ground  over  the 
roots  receives  a  good  mulch  of  cow  manure, 
then  stakes  about  two  feet  long  are  driven 
at  alternate  intervals  of  three  feet  on  each 
side  of  the  edging,  boards  are  then  placed 
on  edge  so  that  they  lean  against  these 
stakes,  meeting  at  the  top  like  an  "A." 
The  box  is  thus  protected  from  the  sun, 
which,  shining  upon  the  frozen  foliage,  is 
what  causes  most  of  it  to  die.  I  believe  that 
box  edging,  when  thus  protected,  could  be 
grown  in  localities  where  it  has  heretofore 
been  thought  impossible. 

59 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

Every  four  years,  about  the  middle  of  April, 
it  is  well  to  take  up  all  the  box  edging,  trench 
the  ground  where  it  is  to  be  reset,  and  replant 
it.  The  object  of  this  is  to  keep  the  box 
bushy,  and  prevent  it  from  growing  "  leggy," 
or  showing  a  wood  stem  below  with  a  bunch 
of  green  at  the  top,  as  frequently  happens. 
It  is  not  well  to  take  up  at  a  time  more 
plants  than  one  can  replant  the  same  day; 
they  should  be  reset  just  touching  each  other, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  there  is  always  a 
considerable  number  of  plants  left  over, 
which,  if  the  garden  is  of  any  size,  will  be 
welcomed  with  joy.  This  process  has  been 
successfully  followed,  not  far  from  my  own 
place,  in  a  small  formal  garden,  where  the  box 
is  now  over  seventy -five  years  old,  and 
remains  always  thick  and  beautiful. 

The  quantity  of  box  edging  can  be  easily 
increased  by  taking  off  clippings  every  year 
except  the  year  it  is  reset.  These  clippings, 
made  of  little  branches  three  to  four  inches 
long,  may  be  taken  in  June  after  the  box  has 

60 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF  THE    EARTH 

made  its  first  growth,  and  either  set  in  rows  in 
a  bed  prepared  for  them  or  planted  at  once 
where  they  are  to  grow,  as  edging  surround- 
ing beds  or  borders.  I  have  done  this  with 
great  success,  but  it  is  a  waste  of  time  and 
material  unless  the  clippings  are  thoroughly 
wet  at  least  once  a  day,  and  twice  a  day  if 
the  weather  is  very  hot  or  dry. 

If  any  one  has  a  friend  in  whose  garden  old 
box  is  growing,  let  her  beg  clippings  from  it, 
for  it  will  be  more  likely  to  prove  hardy  than 
the  box  one  buys. 

Every  year,  in  August,  the  box  edging  can 
be  clipped;  and,  if  it  grows  where  winter  cov- 
ering is  necessary,  it  should  not  be  allowed 
to  reach  more  than  a  foot  in  height. 

All  of  us  have  noticed,  at  the  end  of  the 
winter,  the  sad-looking  box  trees  and  bushes 
on  the  steps  and  windows  of  the  houses  on 
the  north  sides  of  the  streets  in  New  York, 
also  on  the  sides  of  the  avenues  where  the 
sun  shines  upon  it,  by  the  end  of  March 
there  is  rarely  a  green  bush  to  be  seen,  where- 

61 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

as  on  the  south  side  of  the  streets,  where  the 
bushes  are  protected  from  the  sun,  they  are 
quite  likely  to  live. 

Sheared  plants  of  American  arborvitse 
would  answer  the  purpose  of  supplying  an 
evergreen  exterior  decoration,  and,  unless 
neglected  or  allowed  to  become  too  dry  or 
root-bound,  will  live  for  several  years,  even 
under  the  abnormal  conditions  of  life  they 
find  in  the  city. 

Upon  every  place,  even  those  where  space 
is  limited,  a  few  evergreens  should  be  grown, 
even  if  only  one  pine,  one  hemlock  and  one 
spruce,  with  a  few  of  the  smaller  varieties  of 
evergreens.  To  people  who  spend  any  time  in 
the  late  autumn  or  during  the  winter  in  the 
country,  the  evergreens  will  give  extreme 
delight.  Even  if  the  country  house  is  closed 
during  all  the  cold  months,  the  evergreens 
should  still  be  grown,  not  pnly  for  the  beauty 
they  add  to  the  place, — as  a  house  in  winter- 
time looks  cold  and  lonely  with  nothing  green 

62 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF  THE   EARTH 

near  it, — but  also  ¥or  the  value  they  give  to 
deciduous  trees  and  shrubs  in  spring  and 
summer. 

Small,  choice  evergreens  about  a  place, 
such  as  the  finer  arborvitse,  retinisporas,  and 
other  [Japanese  evergreens,  and  even  the 
native  cedars  and  hemlocks,  are  wonderfully 
improved  by  an  annual  clipping  in  August 
of  each  year.  This  clipping  need  not  be  more 
than  an  inch,  or  at  the  most  two  inches,  but 
it  has  great  effect  in  thickening  and  beauti- 
fying the  foliage.  There  is  no  comparison  in 
beauty  between  a  tree  that  has  been  clipped 
for  three  successive  years  and  one  that  has 
never  been  clipped.  This  treatment  is  espe- 
cially necessary  to  the  evergreens  in  formal 
gardens,  for  by  this  means  the  trees  may  be 
kept  at  the  height  and  size  desired.  Un- 
clipped  trees  will  usually  be  open  and  ragged 
looking,  while  those  that  have  been  clipped 
will  have  very  much  finer  and  almost  impen- 
etrable foliage. 

The  native  cedars,  of  which  there  are  sev- 
68 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

eral  varieties,  among  them  one  almost  as 
blue  as  the  Retinispora  squarrosa,  can  give  us 
all  the  formal  effect  that  we  may  desire  in 
our  gardens;  these  cedars  respond  to  the 
yearly  clipping  with  great  thickness  of  foli- 
age. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  sit  in  the  garden 
when  this  operation  is  being  carried  on. 
One  may  have  a  book  or  sewing  in  her 
hands,  but  it  is  so  fascinating  to  watch  the 
outline  of  the  tree  gradually  coming  out 
sharply  from  the  work  of  the  shears  that  little 
sewing  or  reading  is  done  at  such  times. 

Few  of  the  evergreens  will  live  in  my  soil, 
hemlocks  and  red  cedars  being  the  only  mem- 
bers of  the  family  that  really  do  well. 

The  white  pine,  American  arborvitse  and 
the  spruce  struggle  along  for  a  time,  protest- 
ing against  the  conditions  of  life  as  they  find 
it;  but  the  retinisporas,  yews,  all  the  finer 
evergreens,  notwithstanding  specially  pre- 
pared soil  and  winter  covering,  do  not  long 
survive.  My  garden  at  Meadowburn  is  sit- 

64 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF   THE   EARTH 

uated  in  the  extreme  northerly  corner  of  the 
beautiful  hill  country  of  northern  New  Jer- 
sey and  New  York,  directly  on  the  boundary 
line  of  the  two  states.  The  winter  tempera- 
ture rises  and  falls  from  forty  degrees  above 
zero  to  ten,  and  often  twenty  degrees  below, 
and  in  summer,  during  July  and  August, 
there  is  usually  a  long  period  of  dry  weather, 
which  make  conditions  that  are  especially 
hard  upon  the  finer  evergreen  family. 

The  great  hemlocks,  the  symmetrical 
spruces,  the  solemn  pines,  which  in  a  natural 
state  grow  near  the  white  birches  so  often 
that  one  might  say  the  pines  are  married  to 
the  birches — indeed,  all  evergreens — inspire 
me  with  a  feeling  almost  akin  to  worship, 
possibly  a  heathen  trait  which  has  survived 
generations  of  civilization,  so  that  it  is  a  great 
trial  to  me  not  to  be  able  to  grow  the  ever- 
green family  successfully. 

As  a  compensation,  I  was  able  to  plan  for 
a  friend  a  most  lovely  little  garden  which 
she  calls  her  "  evergreen  garden."  It  occu- 

65 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

pies  the  basement  area  from  which  an  old 
side-hill  barn  had  been  removed.  The  space  is 
only  about  forty -five  by  sixty  feet.  Across  the 
back  of  the  garden  is  a  wall  of  rough  stone 
abput  eight  feet  high,  once  the  back  founda- 
tion wall  of  the  barn.  In  the  crevices  of  the 
stones  are  planted  ferns,  ivy  is  trained 
against  them,  and  in  the  center,  from  a  sim- 
ple wall  fountain,  water  drips  with  musical 
sound  into  a  basin  below. 

High  grass  banks  rise  on  the  two  sides  of 
the  garden,  and  the  front  opens  upon  a  beauti- 
ful lawn,  bordered  with  old  trees  and  sloping 
to  the  water.  Steps  of  natural  rough  stone 
lead  down  from  the  summit  of  one  of  the 
grassy  banks  into  the  little  garden;  around 
three  sides,  and  in  several  formal  beds  set 
in  turf  are  planted  many  varieties  of  small 
and  rare  evergreens.  All  are  surrounded  with 
box  edging,  and  had  one  not  seen  a  like  col- 
lection of  evergreens  it  would  be  impossible 
to  imagine  there  could  be  such  variety  of 
form  and  shade  from  darkest  to  lightest 

66 


SOME   GREEN   THINGS   OF  THE   EARTH 

green,  including  the  beautiful  blue-greens, 
golden  yellow  and  green  tipped  with  yellow. 
Although  natives  of  many  countries,  all 
the  specimens  have  lived  and  thriven  in  the 
sandy  soil  and  moist  air  of  their  new  home 
by  the  sea;  and  the  little  evergreen  garden, 
both  summer  and  winter,  is  a  joy  to  all  who 
behold  it. 


67 


RAISING  FLOWERS  FROM   SEED 


CHAPTER  III 

RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM    SEED 

of  the  greatest  pleasures  to  the  gar- 
dener  is  in  raising  flowers,  both  peren- 
nials and  annuals,  from  seed;  and  especially 
is  it  interesting  to  galher  and  sow  the  seeds 
saved  from  her  own  finest  plants.  I  always 
mark  the  plants  whose  seeds  I  wish  to  save 
by  tying  white  strings  about  the  stems  when 
in  full  bloom  as  a  sign  to  all  that  that  blossom 
must  not  be  cut.  My  maid  keeps  me  supplied 
with  a  box  containing  little  pieces,  about 
eight  inches  long  and  an  inch  wide,  of  white 
muslin,  black  cambric,  pink  cambric  and 
turkey-red.  I  tie  black  upon  the  plants  that 
are  to  be  cast  out  in  the  autumn;  scarlet 
upon  the  very  bright  red  phloxes;  a  pink  and 
white  string  upon  all  those  of  pink  and  white 
varieties;  and  a  single  white  piece  upon  the 

71 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

choice  white  phloxes,  and  also  upon  all  plants 
whose  seeds  I  wish  to  save. 

The  seeds,  after  maturing,  are  gathered 
when  dry,  put  into  boxes,  each  of  which  is 
carefully  labeled,  and  then  sown  either  in 
August  or  the  following  spring. 

The  seeds  of  perennials  take  longer  to 
germinate  than  those  of  annuals,  and  often, 
when  one  has  abandoned  all  hope  of  their 
coming  up,  they  will  at  last  appear.  One 
year,  some  platycodons  sown  in  my  garden 
in  August  did  not  show  signs  of  life  until  the 
middle  of  the  following  May;  so  one  must  be 
patient  and  give  Nature  her  own  time.  When 
there  is  much  rain  in  April  and  May  before 
the  seeds  sown  in  the  seed-beds  have  germi- 
nated, the  smaller  varieties  are  quite  apt  to 
rot  in  the  ground,  and  I  have  lost  many  a  crop 
of  Canterbury  bells  from  this  cause.  Seeds 
more  often  fail  to  come  up  because  of  too  wet 
weather  after  sowing,  or  because  they  have 
been  allowed  to  become  too  dry,  or  because 
they  have  been  planted  too  deep,  than 

72 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

through  any  fault  of  the  seedsman's  seeds. 
At  first,  when  beginning  gardening,  I  laid 
upon  the  seedsman  all  the  blame  for  any  fail- 
ure of  the  seeds  to  germinate,  but  now  I  know 
that  such  is  rarely  the  case.  It  is  either  un- 
favorable weather  conditions  or  carelessness 
on  the  part  of  the  gardener.  If,  when  the 
little  germ  is  about  to  break  through  the  en- 
closing husk,  it  is  allowed  to  become  dry  for 
twenty -four  hours,  it  will  be  killed;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  too  much  water  at  this  time 
will  also  cause  it  to  die. 

Children  are  generally  taught  to  make 
their  gardens  with  annuals,  but  it  will  be  very 
interesting  to  the  little  ones  if  taught  to  plant 
the  seeds  of  the  perennials  in  the  spring,  to 
watch  them  growing  through  the  summer,  to 
separate  them  into  rows  in  July  and  then  in 
the  autumn  to  transplant  them  again  to  the 
places  where  they  are  to  grow.  On  coming 
back  the  next  year,  their  interest  will  be  fur- 
ther aroused  when  they  find  the  little  plants 
growing  sturdily  along,  and  then  see  them 

73 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

year  after  year  becoming  more  beautiful,  and 
finally  giving  up  their  seeds  in  turn  to  raise 
other  plants  for  the  garden,  or  to  be  given 
away  to  friends. 

Delphinium.  After  the  phlox,  so  precious 
to  us  all,  it  is  difficult  to  say  which  of  the 
hardy  perennials  is  most  valuable;  but,  first 
among  them  must  come  the  delphinium,  or 
larkspur.  No  other  perennial  grows  so  luxu- 
riantly, none  is  more  easy  to  raise  from  seed, 
and  the  great  variety  of  shades  of  blue,  the 
height  of  the  plants  and  the  length  of  their 
spikes  of  bloom — many  being  two  feet  and 
over  in  length — unite  to  make  this  plant 
unique.  The  majority  of  the  larkspurs  in  my 
garden  last  summer  reached  the  height  of  six 
feet,  and  many  were,  by  actual  measurement, 
over  eight  feet  high.  Then,  of  course,  there 
were  also  the  smaller-growing  varieties  from 
three  to  four  feet  high. 

The  number  of  varieties  of  delphinium  is 
infinite.  Kelway,  of  Langport,  Somerset, 

74 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

England,  the  greatest  specialist  in  these 
plants,  lists  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  vari- 
eties, and  asks  for  some  as  high  as  10s.  lOd. 
apiece,  and  £18  for  a  choice  set  of  two  dozen. 
He  also  asks  five  shillings  a  packet  for  the 
seeds.  These  prices  are  far  above  those  asked 
by  growers  in  the  United  States,  many  of 
whom  have  obtained  their  seeds  from  Kelway 
in  the  first  instance,  and  the  Gold  Medal 
hybrids  sold  in  this  country  give  a  sufficient 
variety.  Of  the  delphiniums,  the  dark  blue 
splashed  with  purple,  the  light  blue  with 
lavender  whose  individual  double  flowers  are 
as  large  as  the  blossom  of  a  stock,  the  light 
blue  flushed  with  pink,  the  pale  blue  with  a 
white  center,  the  turquoise  and  the  sky-blue 
are  among  the  most  beautiful. 

On  October  10th,  from  a  third  crop  of  blos- 
soms, I  counted  fourteen  varieties;  and  in  the 
first  week  in  September,  1909,  I  was  able  to 
take  the  first  prize  ,at  the  county  fair  with 
flowers  from  plants  raised  from  seed  sown  in 
the  open  ground,  just  one  year  before,  and 

75 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

grown  entirely  out-of-doors.  The  professional 
gardeners  at  the  fair  asked  my  men  many 
questions  as  to  how  we  had  raised  such  fine 
flowers.  Afterward,  when  I  inquired  if  they 
had  told  everything  we  did,  they  replied,  "No, 
or  they  might  beat  us  next  year." 

The  seeds  of  delphinium  may  be  sown  in 
the  open  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  warm  in 
spring,  by  the  end  of  July  the  little  plants 
may  be  set  out  six  inches  apart  and  moved 
again  to  their  final  dwelling-place  October  1st, 
or  early  the  following  spring.  I  have  met 
with  the  greatest  success,  however,  in  sowing 
seeds  saved  from  particularly  beautiful  lark- 
spurs in  the  empty  seed-bed  about  the  end  of 
August,  covering  the  crowns  of  the  plants 
with  coal-ashes  in  autumn,  and  strewing  a 
little  straw  or  coarse  hay  over  them  for  the 
first  winter.  The  following  year,  when  the 
seed-beds  are  needed  for  the  annuals,  the 
little  plants  are  transplanted  in  rows  one  foot 
apart  into  a  nursery  bed,  where  they  bloom 
during  the  first  summer.  By  October  1st 

76 


A  CLUMP  OF   DELPHINUMS 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

•» 

their  permanent  home  is  prepared  and  there 
they  are  carefully  removed. 

If  some  of  the  delphiniums  are  to  be  placed 
in  the  back  of  a  border,  they  are  planted  two 
feet  apart,  as  in  the  borders  we  want  the 
growth  to  be  close;  but,  if  they  are  to  be 
grown  in  rows,  these  rows  are  made  three  feet 
apart  and  trenched  one  foot  deep.  In  the 
bottom  of  the  trench  about  seven  inches  of 
cow  manure  is  placed,  and  the  trench  is  filled 
high  with  rich  earth  because  it  will  always 
settle;  the  plants,  then  one  year  old,  are  set 
out  three  feet  apart  in  the  trench,  and  in  the 
late  autumn  some  coal-ashes  are  sifted  over 
them.  In  two  years'  time  rows  so  planted  are 
a  solid  mass  of  color  when  the  larkspurs  are 
blooming. 

In  the  spring,  when  the  plants  are  well  up, 
a  large  trowelful  of  bone  meal  is  dug  about 
each  plant,  and  when  they  are  three  feet  in 
height  they  are  all  staked.  This  is  absolutely 
necessary  because  of  the  winds,  as  the  stalks 
of  the  delphinium  are  so  tender  that  one 

77 


THE   PRACTICAL  FLOWER    GARDEN 

heavy  blow  would  make  havoc  among  them; 
so  when  they  are  about  three  feet  in  height 
we  always  stake  them. 

August  1st  a  little  nitrate  of  soda  is  dug 
about  them  and  carefully  watered  in;  they 
then  receive  a  mulch  of  clippings  of  lawn  grass 
or  leaves  from  the  year  before  and  are  again 
watered  freely,  and  the  more  they  are  watered 
the  more  they  will  respond  with  bloom. 

If  a  stalk  is  cut  down  as  soon  as  the  flowers 
are  withered,  the  plant  will  immediately  begin 
to  send  up  another,  and  in  this  way  one  is  able 
to  have  a  constant  succession  of  bloom.  I 
always  have  at  least  three  crops  of  flowers 
from  the  delphinium,  but  only  the  stalks  of 
the  first  crop  will  reach  any  great  height. 

The  delphiniums  do  not  care  to  be  moved 
after  they  are  eighteen  months  old.  It  is  pos- 
sible, of  course,  but  the  plants  do  not  thrive 
as  well  when  moved  after  they  are  so  old, 
and  it  is  better  to  allow  them  to  remain 
wherever  they  may  be  than  to  take  the  risk 
of  moving  such  large  plants.  There  are  many 

78 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

ten-year-old  larskpurs  in  my  garden  which  send 
up  from  eighteen  to  twenty  spikes  of  bloom  at 
the  same  time.  Last  summer  a  number  bore 
over  thirty  stalks  at  the  first  blooming. 

The  coal-ashes  sifted  over  the  crowns  of 
the  delphinium  in  the  spring  and  fall  are  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  preserve  them  from  their 
fatal  enemy,  the  white  grub.  One  of  my  friends 
said:  "I  do  not  care  for  delphiniums  because 
I  do  not  like  to  see  the  place  where  they  grow 
look  like  a  cinder-bed."  But  the  cinder  effect 
will  be  avoided  if  the  ashes  are  finely  sifted. 

The  roots  of  the  delphiniums  should  not  be 
allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  manure.  I 
believe  that  manure,  if  allowed  to  touch  the 
roots,  is  as  fatal  to  the  delphinium  as  it  is  to 
the  lily  bulb. 

Pyreihrum  is  another  perennial  that  has 
been  greatly  improved  of  late  years.  Many 
varieties  are  listed  by  growers  in  this  country, 
and  Kelway  advertises  two  hundred  and  eigh- 
teen varieties.  They  come  in  all  shades,  from 

79 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

palest  pink  to  dark  crimson,  also  white,  lav- 
ender and  purple.  They  are  single-,  double- 
and  anemone-flowered.  They  bloom  from  the 
end  of  May  through  June,  when  they  should 
be  cut  down.  If  they  are  then  fed  with  bone 
meal,  they  will  bloom  again  in  September. 
The  seeds  can  be  sown  and  the  plants  grown 
just  as  are  the  larkspurs,  for  they  germinate 
readily  and  are  equally  hardy.  They  are  also 
subject  to  attacks  by  the  same  white  grub 
which  is  the  enemy  of  the  larkspur,  and 
should  have  the  coal-ashes  sprinkled  over 
them,  as  is  done  for  the  larkspurs. 

Starwort.  Another  great  perennial  family 
is  the  starwort,  or  hardy  aster,  or  Michaelmas 
daisy,  as  they  are  sometimes  called  in  their 
natural  state.  These  are  the  wild  asters  which 
clothe  the  hillsides,  roadsides,  and  fence-rows 
with  beauty  in  the  autumn.  But  the  hybrid- 
izer has  wrought  his  magic  upon  them,  and  a 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  varieties  are  now 
listed  by  Kelway. 

80 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

In  color  the  starworts  range  from  white 
through  shades  of  palest  lavender  and  ame- 
thyst to  deep  purple,  and  through  shades  of 
pale  pink  to  dark  rose.  They  are  easily  raised 
from  seed  sown  in  the  spring  and,  if  trans- 
planted in  the  autumn  where  they  are  to  live, 
will  bloom  the  following  year. '  They  grow 
from  two  to  four  feet  in  height  and,  if  raised 
in  both  early  and  late  varieties,  will  bloom 
from  the  end  of  July  until  well  into  Novem- 
ber. Their  natural  place  is  in  masses  in  the 
shrubberies,  planted  among  evergreens,  or  in 
large,  mixed,  herbaceous  borders. 

Anchusa  Italica.  A  perennial  not  yet  very 
much  grown,  but  which  when  once  known  will 
always  find  a  place  in  the  garden,  is  the 
Anchusa  Italica,  or  Italian  Alkanet,  Dropmore 
variety.  Two-year-old  plants  in  my  garden 
were  seven  feet  high  in  June,  and  were  con- 
tinually covered  for  six  weeks  with  small  blue 
flowers  formed  in  clusters  eighteen  inches 
long.  The  seeds  may  be  sown  in  August  as 

81 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

soon  as  they  are  dry,  and  in  late  autumn  the 
little  plants  should  be  covered  with  some 
stable  litter. 

The  Anchusa  Italica  also  seeds  itself,  and  by 
October  1st  a  number  of  young  plants  will 
always  be  growing  about  their  parent. 

Marguerite  carnations  are  so  valuable 
that  every  one  should  give  a  little  space  to 
these  flowers.  The  seeds  can  be  sown  as  soon 
as  the  ground  is  warm  in  the  spring,  and  in 
June  the  little  plants  can  be  separated  into 
rows  about  a  foot  apart  and  will  begin  to 
bloom  August  1st.  They  require  a  rich  soil 
and  plenty  of  water.  They  come  in  every  color 
and  shade,  and  their  blossoms  are  at  least 
two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter;  the  stems 
are  long  and  they  flower  until  ice  forms. 
People,  on  seeing  a  bowl  of  them  in  the  house 
in  mid-summer,  have  often  remarked:  "Why 
there  are  hot-house  carnations !" 

Late  in  the  autumn,  the  tops  should  be  cut 
down  and  the  plants  covered  over  with  stable 

82 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

litter.  They  will  then  bloom  again  the  second 
year.  Occasionally  they  will  bloom  a  third 
year,  but  for  the  third  year  they  cannot  be 
relied  upon,  so  if  one  would  have  them  in  the 
garden,  a  sowing  of  seed  should  be  made 
every  other  year. 

V 

Pentstemons  are  another  group  of  perennials 
which  come  in  a  number  of  colors, — white, 
pink,  crimson,  scarlet,  purple  and  magenta. 
The  different  varieties  bloom  from  June 
through  September  and  can  be  grown  from 
seed  sown  in  the  spring;  the  roots  may  also 
be  separated,  as  is  done  with  the  phloxes.  A 
little  bone  meal  given  them  in  May  of  the 
second  year  will  stimulate  their  growth.  They 
are  all  hardy  excepting  one  variety,  Sensation, 
the  freest  bloomer  of  all,  which  should  be 
lifted  and  placed  in  a  coldframe  for  the  winter. 

Salvia  azurea  grandiflora  is  another  flower 
lately  brought  forward  by  growers.  Each 
stalk  ends  in  a  large,  loose  cluster  of  pale  blue 


THE   PRACTICAL  FLOWER   GARDEN 

flowers  which  lasts  for  five  or  six  weeks.  The 
plant  grows  about  three  feet  high;  it  can  be 
raised  from  seed  sown  at  the  same  time  as 
other  perennials,  and  is  grateful  for  the  addi- 
tion of  sand  to  the  soil,  which  need  be  only 
that  of  the  well-made  border.  Though  a 
native  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  it  needs  a  win- 
ter protection  of  stable  litter  or  leaves,  and 
the  young  plants  will  be  the  better  for  spend- 
ing the  first  winter  in  a  coldframe.  The  Salvia 
azurea  may  also  be  increased  by  dividing 
large  roots.  Since  knowing  this  plant,  I  do 
not  feel  that  I  could  be  quite  happy  with- 
out it. 

Hyacinthus  candicans  is  a  flower  not  suffi- 
ciently grown.  It  has  great  merits  of  hardi- 
ness, and  in  decorative  qualities.  It  is  also 
inexpensive  when  bought  in  quantity  and  is 
easily  raised  from  seed.  It  grows  from  a  bulb, 
and  is  most  effective  when  planted  in  clumps 
of  from  six  to  a  dozen  or  more  together.  It 
blooms  in  August,  throwing  up  a  great  spike 

84 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

of  white  blossoms  at  least  four  feet  in  height, 
and  looks  like  a  magnificent  hyacinth. 

Monkshood.  In  every  garden  there  should 
be  a  corner  for  the  monkshood,  as  it  blooms 
at  a  time  when  there  are  only  a  few  flowers 
left  to  us.  I  have  often  gathered  it  after 
thick  ice  had  formed.  The  plants  remain  in 
blossom  on  the  stalk  a  long  time,  and  in  the 
house  will  keep  fresh  in  water  for  ten  days. 
One  should  have  not  only  the  dark  blue  vari- 
ety, but  also  the  new  Wilsoni  recently  im- 
ported from  China.  The  roots  may  be  sepa- 
rated, but  they  are  easily  grown  from  seed, 
like  other  perennials,  and  need  only  good 
soil  of  the  borders. 

Peony.  It  is  not  generally  known  how 
simple  it  is  to  grow  both  the  iris  and  peonies 
from  seed.  This  is  especially  interesting  when 
we  have  a  beautiful  variety  of  which  we  do  not 
know  the  name,  and  are  therefore  unable  to 
order  more  like  it.  By  the  process  of  raising 

85 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

the  plants  from  seed  we  may  increase  our 
stock  indefinitely.  We  mark  the  plants  whose 
seeds  we  wish  to  save,  gather  the  peony  seed 
when  it  is  ripe,  which  should  be  about  the  end 
of  August,  and  sow  it  at  once  in  drills  in  rich 
soil.  The  places  where  the  peony  seeds  are 
sown  should  be  marked  by  stakes  because  the 
seeds  will  not  germinate  until  the  following 
May.  The  little  plants  must  be  kept  free  from 
weeds  and  watered,  and  the  second  year  sep- 
arated a  foot  or  so  apart  in  rows;  the  third 
year  the  peonies  will  generally  bloom. 

Iris.  The  iris  seeds  should  be  gathered 
when  ripe  and  sown  the  following  April  in 
drills  like  pea  seed,  then  transplanted  when 
three  or  four  inches  high;  if  they  have  had 
rich  soil  and  all  the  water  they  need,  they  will 
frequently  blossom  the  second  summer.  Last 
year  I  raised  about  three  hundred  plants  in 
this  manner. 

There  are  so  many  annuals  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  know  which  to  speak  about;  however, 

86 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

a  few  are  chosen  because  of  their  luxuriant 
growth  or  for  the  color  they  give  us. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  Amaranthus  Abys- 
sinicus.  This  plant  has  a  very  Oriental-Ara- 
bian-Nights sounding  name,  and  rivals  Jack's 
bean-stalk  in  growth,  for  it  reaches  a  height 
of  seven  or  eight  feet  in  a  short  time.  The 
stalk  and  branches  are  dark  crimson  in  color, 
and  every  branch  terminates  with  a  cluster  of 
dark  crimson  tassels  a  foot  in  length;  it  has  a 
very  large  light  green  leaf. 

One  of  these  plants  appeared  one  summer 
in  my  seed-beds.  I  did  not  know  what  it 
was.  It  grew  and  grew,  and  finally  one  of  the 
gardeners,  a  man  along  in  life,  who  was 
trained  by  my  grandmother's  gardener,  pro- 
nounced it  the  "lady's  riding  whip,"  a  name 
which  had  probably  been  given  it  from  the 
long  tassel  effect,  and  at  last  I  was  able  to 
trace  it  in  the  catalogues.  It  is  very  effective 
when  grown  either  in  the  back  of  an  herba- 
ceous border  or  in  a  shrubbery. 


87 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

Nicotiana,  both  Sylvestris,  Affinis  and  the 
hybrid  varieties  which  yield  larger  flowers 
than  the  ordinary  tobacco  plant  and  range 
through  many  colors,  are  very  simply  raised 
from  seed,  and,  as  they  bloom  continuously, 
are  a  great  addition  to  our  gardens. 

A  charming,  old-time  annual  is  the  kochia, 
or  summer  cypress.  It  seeds  itself,  so  that  if 
there  is  even  one  plant  in  the  garden  seed 
need  never  be  bought.  When  the  little  plants 
are  a  couple  of  inches  in  height  they  should 
be  transplanted  to  a  foot  apart.  They  grow 
two  feet  high,  are  naturally  symmetrical  in 
growth,  have  pale  green,  feathery  foliage,  and 
make  a  charming  little  hedge  about  the  seed- 
bed or  the  nursery.  In  autumn  the  foliage 
turns  dark  crimson. 

Salpiglossis  is  a  valuable  annual,  bloom- 
ing so  luxuriantly  that  one  wonders  that  any 
plant  can  produce  so  many  blossoms.  The 
flowers  are  white  splotched  with  crimson,  or 

88 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

x. 

pink  flushed  with  white,  lilac  and  purple.  It 
only  grows  about  a  foot  in  height,  but  gives  a 
constant  amount  of  color. 

Schizanthus,  or  butterfly-flower,  is  an 
annual  well  worth  growing.  It  comes  in  many 
colors  and  is  continually  covered  with  flowers, 
white,  pink  and  lilac.  When  three  or  more 
are  grown  in  a  large  pot,  it  makes  a  hand- 
some decoration  for  the  terrace. 

The  old-fashioned  Phlox  Drummondi  has 
been  greatly  improved  and  is  now  a  very  effec- 
tive annual,  not  only  for  color  in  the  garden, 
but  also  as  a  household  decoration.  The 
Phlox  Drummondi  does  very  well  when  sown 
directly  where  it  is  to  bloom. 

All  of  these  annuals  need  only  to  be  sown 
in  rows  in  the  seed-bed  as  soon  as  the  ground 
is  warm  in  the  spring,  watered  late  in  the  day, 
and  when  the  plants  are  about  three  inches 
high  transplanted  where  it  is  intended  that 
they  shall  bloom. 

89 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

There  are  a  few  annuals  which  should  be 
sown  in  the  hotbed  by  March  1st  if  we  wish 
them  to  come  into  bloom  early.  They  may 
also  be  sown  in  the  open  ground,  but  in  that 
case  their  flowers  are  very  late  and  only 
reach  their  perfection  with  the  coming  of  cold 
weather.  The  most  important  of  these  are  stocks 
and  snapdragons.  If,  when  the  little  plants 
are  set  out  in  the  open  ground  in  May,  they 
show  a  tendency  to  become  stringy  and  form 
only  a  few  buds  at  the  end  of  the  stalk,  they 
should  promptly  be  cut  down.  One  need  not  be 
alarmed  at  this  process  because  almost  in- 
stantly the  plant  will  send  up  a  new  and  sturdy 
growth.  This  weakness  of  the  plants  results 
because  either  they  were  grown  too  thickly  in 
the  hotbed  or  did  not  receive  sufficient  air. 

Heliotrope  and  ageratum  are  two  other  an- 
nuals necessary  in  the  garden  because  of  their 
color  and  prolific  flowering.  Ageratum  is  of 
all  blue  flowers  the  freest  bloomer.  It  is  also 
easy  to  raise  and  every  seed  seems  to  germ- 

90 


A  tangled  corner 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

inate.  But  the  heliotrope  is  more  difficult  to 
start,  and  unless  the  gardener  is  experienced 
he  should  procure  slips,  and  start  them  in 
February  in  fine,  sharp  sand,  transferring  the 
little  plants  when  well  rooted  to  thumb-pots, 
and  again  to  three-inch  pots  early  in  April. 
The  heliotrope  requires  more  heat  than  the 
hotbeds  yield,  and  the  slips  must  be  grown 
either  in  a  greenhouse  or  in  a  window  of  a 
rather  warm  living-room. 

Verbenas  germinate  readily,  and  seeds  sown 
in  the  hotbeds  in  March  will  be  fine  plants  by 
the  end  of  May,  when  it  is  time  to  set  them 
out. 

All  the  single  dahlias,  too,  are  easily  raised 
from  seed  sown  in  the  hotbeds  about  March 
1st,  and  when  so  started  the  period  of  bloom 
is  greatly  increased.  By  the  early  start  thus 
obtained  the  dahlias  raised  from  seed  are 
particularly  fine  in  form  and  color.  Dormant 
tubers  of  double  dahlias  can  be  started  about 
April  1st  in  a  coldframe. 

91 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

Then  there  are  the  petunias,  Rosy  Morn, 
Giant  Ruffled  White,  and  all  the  other  ruffled 
varieties.  It  is  a  simple  matter  to  raise  them 
from  seed;  many  varieties  yield  a  plant  from 
every  seed  in  the  ordinary  packet,  while  of 
other  varieties  from  twenty -five  to  seventy -five 
plants  are  grown  from  a  single  packet  of  seed. 

In  the  hotbeds,  over  the  horse  manure 
which  provides  the  heat  necessary  for  for- 
cing, we  use  a  soil  composed  of  old  sods, 
leaf -mold,  very  fine  old,  cow  manure,  sand 
and  some  garden  soil.  This  preparation  is  also 
used  in  the  flats  and  pots  in  which  the  young 
plants  are  grown;  the  same  soil  is  used  in  the 
coldframes. 

If  fine,  dry  sea  sand  is  thinly  sifted  over 
the  seeds  when  planted  and  they  are  then 
gently  pressed  down  by  the  hand,  they  will 
retain  the  moisture  better;  the  young  plants 
seem  also  less  apt  to  "damp  off"  than  when 
covered  with  soil. 

The  durable  quality  of  concrete  and  the 
92 


RAISING   FLOWERS   FROM   SEED 

protection  it  affords  from  low  temperatures 
as  well  as  from  moles  and  field-mice  warrant 
its  use  for  coldframes  and  hotbeds.  The  con- 
struction is  simple,  and  two  men  who  under- 
stand mixing  concrete  and  constructing  the 
frames  can  excavate  the  earth  ^and  make  half 
a  dozen  frames  in  a  week. 

The  so-called  "  Sunlight  Sash,"  a  recently 
patented  sash  for  hotbeds  and  coldframes, 
which  consists  of  double  sash  with  an  air 
space  of  three-quarters  of  an  inch  between 
the  layers  of  glass,  seems  to  be  an  improve- 
ment over  the  single  glass.  It  permits  the 
sash  to  remain  uncovered  and  open  to  the 
sun  and  light  in  all  but  very  severe  weather. 
Because  of  the  increase  of  warmth  and  the 
amount  of  light  received,  there  seems  to  be 
less  danger  from  mildew,  the  plants  grow 
larger  and  stronger  and  many  flowers  can  be 
kept  blooming  all  winter,  and  lettuce  and 
radishes  can  more  easily  be  raised  in  succes- 
sive crops  during  the  cold  months,  than  in 
the  old  way. 

98 


RAISING  TREES  FROM   SEED 


CHAPTER  IV 

RAISING   TREES   FROM   SEED 

TTNTIL  recent  years,  people  in  this  coun- 
try have  wholly  failed  to  appreciate 
the  importance  of  tree  and  forest  culture. 
Our  natural  forests  have  been  abundant,  tim- 
ber and  forest  products  have  been  plentiful 
and  cheap,  and  we  have  gone  on  oblivious  to 
our  future  needs,  recklessly  wasting  or  negli- 
gently unconcerned  about  our  timber  and 
forest  resources.  We  have  been,  both  indi- 
vidually and  as  a  people,  wholly  indifferent 
to  the  priceless  value  of  our  woodlands  and 
forests  as  equalizers  of  temperature,  or  as 
conservators  of  our  springs,  brooks  and  water 
sources,  or  even  as  mere  wood  and  lumber. 

The  lumberman  has  cut  wastefully,  with  no 
other  object  than  the  price  of  his  product  in 
the  open  market,  and  fires  have  everywhere 

97 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

followed  the  lumberman's  brush,  rubbish  and 
waste,  with  the  final  result  of  leaving  many  of 
our  former  woodlands  and  forests  treeless 
wastes  of  blackened  stumps  and  ground. 

Now  there  has  come  a  change  of  heart,  and 
we  hear  constantly  of  conservation  of  natural 
resources,  of  forest  planting  and  protection, 
of  the  protection  of  woodlands  and  trees, — 
and  the  call  comes  none  too  soon  for  the 
future  welfare  of  all  concerned. 

In  response  to  this  call,  the  forestry  division 
of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture has  done,  and  is  doing,  a  great  work  both 
in  planting  and  preserving  the  forests  and  in 
instructing  people  through  pamphlets  and 
circulars  issued  by  it  how  to  re-forest  and 
protect  their  woodlands.  Its  plans  are  wise 
and  far-reaching,  but  its  energies  are  limited 
by  the  appropriations  allowed  by  Congress. 

Every  intelligent  person  should  cooperate 
with  the  government,  and  endeavor  to  do 
something  every  year  toward  educating  the 
people  to  a  greater  appreciation  of  the 

98 


RAISING   TREES   FROM   SEED 

v 

importance  of  replanting  and  preserving 
forests  and  woodlands.  Arbor  Day  is  a  step 
forward,  but  all  children  should  be  taught  to 
know  the  trees  and  to  love  them.  This  is 
quite  possible  even  in  cities  because  of  the 
fine  parks  where  many  varieties  of  trees  are 
growing.  In  spring  and  summer,  classes  might 
be  held  in  the  parks  after  school  hours,  which 
would  be  of  invaluable  benefit  in  acquainting 
the  children  with  the  different  species  of  trees, 
tteir  several  characteristics  and  uses,  the  im- 
portance of  preserving  them,  as  well  as  the 
manner  of  planting  a  tree  whenever  there  is 
space  and  opportunity. 

For  the  last  three  years  there  has  been 
serious  drought  in  many  sections  and  during 
this  time  in  my  own  part  of  the  country,  where 
usually  ground -water  is  abundant,  the  springs 
and  streams  have  rarely  attained  their  levels. 
This  increasing  condition  of  persistent  drought 
should  be  a  warning  of  the  disaster  which 
may  overtake  us  if  we  do  not  learn  in  time 
to  renew  and  preserve  our  woodlands  and 

99 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

forests,  which  are  so  essential  for  the  proper 
conservation  of  our  water  supplies. 

I  often  regret  that  I  did  not  long  ago, 
during  all  the  years  spent  in  raising  other 
things,  begin  also  to  raise  trees  from  seeds. 
Sturdy  groves  of  timber  might  now  be 
growing  from  seeds  sown  twenty-five  years 
ago. 

All  those  who  own  suburban  or  country 
property  should  keep  it  well  planted  and  pre- 
served as  a  duty  to  future  generations  who 
are  to  inherit  the  land. 

All  young  married  people  beginning  life  in 
the  country  should  start  at  once  to  raise  trees 
if  their  place  is  of  any  extent.  By  middle  life, 
when  grandchildren  come,  the  trees  will  not 
only  be  splendid  specimens,  but  will  be  monu- 
ments to  the  ancestral  forethought  and  love 
of  beauty;  and  because  they  were  planted  by 
some  forbear  will  be  regarded  with  increased 
tenderness  and  devotion  as  long  as  their  great 
branches  spread  themselves  in  air. 

It  is  not  generally  understood  that  the  coni- 
100 


RAISING   TREES   FROM   SEED 

fers,  both  the  white  and  red  pine,  the  Scotch 
pine  and  the  native  hemlocks,  can  easily  be 
raised  from  seed,  which,  though  a  slow  process, 
is  one  most  interesting,  as  well  as  quite  simple, 
and  well  worth  trying  where  the  estate  is  of 
any  size.  Cones  may  be  gathered  in  Septem- 
ber and  spread  upon  a  sheet  in  a  light  room  of 
a  tool  house  or  other  dry  place  where  they  will 
dry ;  the  seeds  will  fall  out  from  the  cones  and 
can  then  be  collected  and  stored  through 
the  winter  in  boxes,  or  the  seeds  may  be 
bought  in  the  spring  from  any  reliable  seeds- 
man. The  seed-bed  should  be  made  in  the 
same  way  as  are  the  seed-beds  for  flowers:  it 
should  be  raised  about  four  inches  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  to  secure  perfect  drain- 
age; a  good  size  is  four  by  six  feet.  At  the 
four  corners  of  the  bed,  stout  stakes,  eighteen 
inches  high,  should  be  driven  into  the  ground, 
and  a  board  a  foot  in  width  running  around 
the  bed  nailed  to  the  stakes.  When  the  ground 
is  warm,  about  the  time  that  we  would  plant 
beans  in  the  vegetable  garden,  the  ground 

101 


THE   PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

should  be  thoroughly  moistened  to  the  depth 
of  several  inches,  and  the  seed  sown  thickly 
in  drills  about  four  inches  apart;  then  the 
seed  should  be  pressed  well  into  the  soil  with 
the  flat  surface  of  the  hoe  and  about  an  eighth 
of  an  inch  of  soil  sprinkled  over  the  whole 
bed.  Over  the  bed  and  resting  upon  the  tops 
of  the  four  stakes  a  screen  made  of  lath 
should  be  laid,  to  protect  the  young  seedlings 
from  the  too  strong  sun  of  the  summer.  In 
natural  conditions  where  the  conifers  seed 
themselves,  they  are  protected  by  the  pine 
needles  and  by  the  leaves,  the  underbrush 
and  the  tall  trees  above  them;  hence,  when 
raising  them  in  the  nursery,  we  should  give 
them  as  nearly  as  possible  the  conditions  that 
they  would  naturally  have. 

The  first  year,  the  little  plants  need  no  other 
care  than  to  be  kept  free  from  weeds  and  not 
allowed  to  become  too  dry.  After  very  heavy 
rains  the  lath  screen  may  be  lifted  for  a  day 
to  enable  the  bed  to  dry  out.  In  about  three 
weeks  after  sowing  the  seed  the  little  plants 

102 


RAISING   TREES   FROM   SEED 

begin  to  appear  above  the  earth,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  first  summer  should  be  about  two 
and  one-half  inches  high.  This  seems  a  far 
cry  to  the  pine  tree  towering  fifty  feet  in  the 
air,  but  we  do  not  plant  such  trees  for  our- 
selves, but  for  our  children;  still  a  pine  tree 
should  be  fifty  feet  high  in  less  than  fifty 
years. 

Two  ounces  of  seed  will  sow  a  bed  four  by 
six  feet,  and  allowing  for  seeds  that  do  not 
germinate  and  for  young  plants  that  die  in 
the  first  four  years  of  life  (they  will  rarely 
die  after  four  years),  should  raise  five  hun- 
dred trees;  and  one  pound  of  seed,  after  mak- 
ing a  large  allowance  for  those  that  do  not 
germinate  and  for  trees  that  do  not  live, 
should  raise  four  thousand  trees. 

With  the  first  frost  in  the  autumn,  the  lath 
screen  may  be  removed  from  the  seed-bed 
which,  toward  the  end  of  November  of  the 
first  year,  may  then  be  covered  with  a  spread 
of  fallen  leaves,  and  the  whole  protected  by  a 
single  thickness  of  burlap  nailed  over  the  en- 

103 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

tire  bed  where  the  young  plants  are  growing. 
This  is  to  give  them  for  the  first  year  the 
necessary  winter  protection,  as  in  the  forest 
they  would  have  the  natural  protection  of  the 
fallen  leaves  and  pine  needles. 

During  the  second  summer  the  little  plants 
remain  in  the  seed-bed  and  need  no  care 
except  to  be  kept  free  from  weeds  and  occa- 
sionally watered  if  they  become  too  dry.  They 
do  not  need  the  lath  screen  nor  any  further 
covering  in  the  second  winter. 

The  third  year  they  should  be  transplanted; 
trenches  of  good,  rich  earth  should  be  made 
in  the  nursery  a  foot  apart,  and  the  little 
trees  very  carefully  lifted  from  the  seed-bed 
with  a  spade,  put  first  into  a  pail  of  liquid 
mud,  so  that  the  roots  do  not  become  dry, 
and  then  set  out  about  eight  inches  apart  in 
rows  in  the  nursery.  Here,  again,  they  need 
no  care  except  to  be  kept  free  from  weeds 
and  occasionally  watered. 

The  fourth  summer,  they  may  either  be 
transplanted  to  their  permanent  place  or  be 

104 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  CEDAR  WALK 


RAISING   TREES   FROM   SEED 

reset  to  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  apart  in 
the  nursery. 

The  object  of  this  frequent  transplanting 
is  to  cause  the  young  trees  to  make  fibrous 
root-growth.  If  we  dig  up  a  little  pine  tree  or 
hemlock  in  the  woods,  it  will  be  found  to  have 
a  tap-root  and  two  or  three  side  roots;  where- 
as, the  nursery-grown  tree  is  composed  of  a 
mass  of  fibrous  roots,  and  these  fibrous  roots 
enable  the  tree  to  stand  the  transplanting 
and  to  make  a  quick  growth,  so  that  our  four- 
year-old  tree  grown  in  the  nursery  has  great 
vitality  of  root  and  is  almost  sure  to  live. 

The  United  States  Forestry  Department 
recommends  the  planting  of  pine  trees  at  a 
distance  of  six  feet  apart  in  all  directions. 
This  is,  of  course,  for  those  who  are  growing 
pines  for  lumber;  but  on  a  private  estate, 
where  one  does  not  grow  them  with  any 
intention  of  cutting  them  down  in  a  few 
years,  to  sell,  they  would  naturally  be  placed 
with  an  idea  of  beauty  in  the  landscape. 

Pine  trees  will  grow  anywhere,  on  almost 
105 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

any  kind  of  soil  except  in  low  places;  one 
never  sees  pine  trees  growing  in  damp  mead- 
ows or  wet  places. 

If  one  wishes  to  make  a  hedge  of  white  pine 
the  ground  should  be  trenched  in  the  same 
way  as  it  is  for  any  other  hedge,  and  the 
young  plants  then  set  out,  two  feet  apart. 
They  will  grow  rapidly,  and  in  a  short  time 
will  form  a  hedge  five  or  six  feet  in  height  and 
three  or  four  feet  wide  at  the  base,  and  be  an 
object  of  the  greatest  beauty.  It  needs  trim- 
ming but  once  a  year,  and  in  color  and  foliage 
makes  a  hedge  surpassing  in  beauty  that  of 
any  other  evergreen.  Such  hedges  of  white 
pine  are  seen  in  perfection  at  Cornish,  N.  H., 
where  one  particularly  fine  surrounds  the 
place  of  the  late  Mr.  St.  Gaudens. 

One  of  the  few  hard-wood  trees  which  has 
not  yet,  in  our  part  of  the  country,  been 
attacked  by  any  enemy  is  the  black  walnut. 
These  trees  are  rapid  in  growth,  and  very 
graceful  in  form;  the  foliage  is  sufficiently 
light  to  permit  of  the  grass  growing  under  the 

106 


RAISING   TREES   FROM    SEED 

trees  well  up  to  the  trunk  and  the  shape  of 
the  trunk  and  the  limbs  is  so  fine  in  the  winter- 
time that  there  is  no  tree  better  worth  plant- 
ing about  any  estate  where  it  will  grow  than 
the  black  walnut.  The  lumber  and  wood  are 
in  great  demand  and,  raised  in  quantities,  and 
cut  judiciously,  are  a  valuable  asset  for  the 
farmer. 

Some  fifteen  years  ago  a  young  seedling 
black  walnut  appeared  in  one  of  my  seed-beds. 
The  nut  had  probably  been  dropped  there  by 
some  squirrel.  It  grew  nearly  two  feet  the 
first  year,  and  as  a  matter  of  curiosity  we 
allowed  the  sapling  to  remain,  but  it  grew  so 
rapidly  that  in  a  couple  of  years  it  became 
necessary  to  remove  it  from  the  seed-bed. 
The  tree  is  now  about  twenty  inches  in  cir- 
cumference and  has  reached  a  height  of  over 
thirty  feet,  which  is  doing  well  for  fifteen 
years'  growth. 

If,  along  in  October,  one  gathers  a  bag  of 
walnuts,  removes  the  green  shells,  and,  going 
about  the  place,  makes  here  and  there  a  hole 

107 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

in  the  ground,  some  two  or  three  inches  deep, 
with  a  pointed  stick  or  crowbar,  drops  in  a 
nut,  and  presses  the  soil  down  with  his  foot, 
the  next  year  he  will  have  a  vigorous  shoot; 
the  following  year  the  tree  will  begin  to  grow, 
and  in  an  astonishingly  short  time  whoever 
has  followed  this  practice  will  be  rewarded  by 
a  fine  lot  of  young  black  walnut  trees  upon 
his  place.  One  could  easily  gather  up  and 
plant  a  bagful  of  nuts  in  a  forenoon.  Perhaps 
the  best  places  for  planting  are  along  fence- 
rows,  which  afford  the  tree  in  its  first  tender 
years  some  protection  from  drought  and 
severe  winters,  as  well  as  as  from  interfer- 
ence by  cattle. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  transplant  a  field- 
grown  black  walnut  and  get  it  to  live,  so 
that  one  gets  the  best  results  by  planting  the 
nuts  where  the  tree  is  to  remain. 

Another   symmetrical   and   beautiful   tree, 
also  of  rapid  growth  and  free  from  attacks  of 
borers  and  insects,  is  the  ash.    Two  seedling 
ash  trees,  also  found  in  my  seed-bed,  were 

108 


RAISING   TREES    FROM    SEED 

transplanted  when  a  year  old,  and  eighteen 
inches  high,  and  after  fifteen  years'  growth 
the  trees  were  about  as  large  as  the  black 
walnut  seedling,  but  a  year  ago,  as  they  were 
crowding  more  valuable  trees,  they  had  to  be 
cut  down. 

The  linden  tree  and  the  sycamore  are  also 
healthy,  of  rapid  growth,  and  are  not  diffi- 
cult to  raise  from  seed. 

The  maple  needs  no  brief  to  tell  of  its 
merits,  but  should  not  be  planted  near  house 
or  garden  because  of  its  dense  shade. 

In  tracts  of  woodland,  under  maples,  about 
the  parent  sweet  gum  tree,  near  sycamores, 
ashes,  birches,  lindens,  many  wild  seedlings  will 
be  found,  and  these,  if  carefully  lifted  in  the 
early  spring,  transplanted  to  the  nursery  and 
there  cultivated  for  a  year  or  two,  will  make 
fine,  strong  trees.  The  finest  seedlings  are  to 
be  found  on  low  ground  or  along  'the  banks 
of  streams,  where  there  is  moisture  and  pro- 
tection of  undergrowth  from  too  strong  sun. 
We  have  but  to  study  natural  conditions  and 

109 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

try  to  reproduce  or  to  improve  upon  them 
to  be  successful  in  raising  our  trees  from  seeds. 

The  Catalpa  speciosa  also  seeds  itself  readily, 
and,  wherever  a  parent  tree  grows  near  a 
shrubbery  or  spot  where  the  grass  is  not 
mown,  there  one  can  find  every  year  a  few 
young  trees  ready  to  be  transplanted  early  in 
the  spring.  No  tree  is  more  decorative  than  the 
catalpa  with  its  beautiful  leaves  and  panicles 
of  orchid-like  flowers.  It  also  lives  to  great  age, 
and  its  twisted,  gnarled  trunks  and  branches 
rival  in  beauty  those  of  the  old  apple  tree. 

Nature  sows  her  seeds  when  ripened,  and 
the  seeds  of  maple,  birch  and  elm  ripen  and 
fall  to  the  ground  between  April  and  June; 
they  should  then  be  gathered  and  planted 
without  delay  as  they  retain  their  vitality 
for  a  short  time  only — perhaps  six  weeks. 
They  germinate  soon  after  planting. 

The  germ  of  life  in  the  seeds  of  all  nut- 
bearing  trees  survives  but  a  season,  and 
hence  the  nuts  should  be  planted  in  the  au- 
tumn as  soon  as  ripe  and  dry. 

110 


RAISING   TRPES   FROM   SEED 

Willows  are  best  grown  from  cuttings  made 
early  in  March  or  April,  from  eight  to  twelve 
inches  long.  They  grow  so  rapidly  that  they 
may  be  planted  where  they  are  to  grow. 
Straight  branches  of  willow,  five* or  six  feet 
high,  if  cut  in  March  and  planted  in  a  moist 
place,  will  generally  grow,  but  must,  of  course, 
be  staked.  They  need  only  to  be  thrust  about 
a  foot  into  the  ground. 

The  yellow  poplar  is  easily  grown  from  cut- 
tings a  foot  in  length,  taken  in  March  or 
April,  and  planted  four  inches  deep  and 
about  the  same  distance  apart,  in  a  shallow 
trench  of  good  soil.  All  cuttings  of  trees 
should  be  kept  moist  and  shaded  from  the 
sun  until  well  rooted,  and  generally  treated 
the  same  as  the  cuttings  from  shrubs.  Early 
the  following  spring  they  may  be  transplanted 
to  the  places  where  they  are  to  grow. 

Lombardy  poplars  send  up  shoots  from  the 
roots,  which  may  be  severed  from  the  root 
by  a  sharp  spade,  and  planted  early  in  the 
spring  where  they  are  to  grow.  They  should 

111 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

be  kept  staked  for  a  couple  of  years.  Every 
year  we  separate  these  shoots  from  the  pop- 
lar trees  in  the  garden,  sometimes  keeping 
them  in  rows  for  a  year,  and  again  planting 
them  at  once  in  permanent  places.  By  degrees 
we  are  planting  these  poplars  wherever  there 
is  space,  just  inside  the  stone  walls  that 
border  the  roadway,  almost  too  unfrequented 
to  be  called  a  highway,  that  runs  through 
the  farm.  Of  more  than  a  hundred  of  these 
little  shoots  thus  planted  not  one  has  died, 
although  several  have  been  broken  by  cattle, 
which  eat  the  poplar  leaves  with  avidity. 

The  deciduous -tree  seeds  that  germinate 
most  easily  are  maple,  catalpa,  ash,  linden, 
birch,  oak,  walnut,  and  hickory.  Of  the  seeds 
of  the  tulip  tree  but  a  small  proportion — from 
five  to  ten  per  cent — germinate;  it  is  a  tree 
difficult  to  raise  from  seed. 

The  seed-bed  for  seeds  of  deciduous  trees 
should  be  prepared  in  the  same  manner  as 
for  evergreens.  The  seeds  should  be  sown  in 
rows  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  apart;  light 

112 


RAISING   TREES   FROM   SEED 

seeds  such  as  those  of  birch,  elm,  catalpa  and 
maples,  should  be  spaced  about  two  inches 
apart  in  the  row  so  that  the  seedlings  will 
not  require  thinning.  A  day  when  there  is  no 
wind  should  be  chosen  for  sowing>  these  seeds, 
or  many  will  be  blown  away  and  the  sower's 
patience  be  sorely  tried.  After  sowing  cover 
the  seeds  lightly  about  twice  their  own  depth, 
pressing  down  the  earth  firmly  with  the  back 
of  the  hoe;  sprinkle  the  bed,  and  scatter  over 
it  a  covering  of  any  kind  of  chaff  which  will 
preserve  the  moisture  in  the  soil  for  some  time; 
when  watering  is  necessary,  the  chaff  serves 
as  a  filter,  and  also  as  a  preventive  against 
washing  the  little  seeds  out  of  the  soil.  A 
very  fine  spray  should  always  be  used  for 
watering  tree  seeds.  When  the  seedlings 
appear  the  chaff  should  be  removed.  The 
bed  must  be  kept  carefully  weeded  and  gently 
cultivated  between  the  rows,  particularly  in 
dry  weather,  and  during  the  first  winter  it 
should  be  protected  with  a  covering  of  leaves 
about  a  foot  in  depth. 

113 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

During  the  first  year  in  the  seed-bed,  ash 
seedlings  should  grow  from  eight  to  ten  inches; 
elm,  eight  to  ten;  black  locust,  eight  to  twenty; 
locust,  eight  to  twelve;  oak,  eight  to  twelve; 
birch,  four  to  six;  maple,  ten  to  twelve; 
catalpa,  eighteen  to  twenty  inches. 

Early  spring  is  the  best  time  for  trans- 
planting the  seedlings,  which  should  be  first 
lifted  into  a  pail  of  thin  mud,  the  roots  well 
covered  with  the  mud,  and  then  planted  care- 
fully, the  roots  being  given  ample  room;  the 
earth  should  be  firmly  packed  about  them, 
and  a  mulch  of  old  manure  or  leaves  laid 
around  them  and,  if  possible,  watered  from 
time  to  time. 

Maples,  catalpas  and  locusts  make  such 
rapid  growth  that  after  a  year  in  the  seed- 
bed they  may  be  transplanted  to  the  place 
where  they  are  to  grow.  Other  varieties  are 
benefited  by  being  first  transplanted  to  rows 
in  the  nursery  for  a  year,  and  there  cul- 
tivated by  the  hoe  before  being  finally  trans- 
planted. All  the  seeds  of  nut  trees,  acorns, 

114 


RAISING   TREES   FROM   SEED 

walnuts  and  hickories,  should  be  planted  in  the 
autumn,  preferably  where  they  are  to  grow. 

The  ravages  of  the  chestnut  borer  have 
made  it  undesirable  to  raise  tbis  beautiful 
tree  at  present. 

Seeds  of  locusts,  sycamores  and  catalpas 
should  be  gathered  when  ripe,  then  mixed 
with  dry  sand  and  stored  in  a  cool,  dry  cellar 
until  spring.  Locust  seeds,  before  planting, 
should  be  placed  in  a  vessel  of  very  hot 
water,  stirred  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
allowed  to  soak  in  the  water  (which  of  course 
will  become  cold)  for  three  days;  then  taken 
out  and  planted  at  once,  not  being  allowed  to 
become  dry. 

It  would  be  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the 
country  if  the  owners  of  land  everywhere 
would  plant  trees  intelligently  and  exten- 
sively. By  this  means,  the  abandoned  farm 
could  be  made  productive,  shelter  and  wind- 
breaks provided  for  buildings  and  pastures, 
covert  for  game  and  song  birds  and  protec- 
tion for  growing  crops.  The  necessary  wood 

115 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

for  fuel,  building  repairs,  and  fence-making, 
could  also  be  produced  cheaply,  and  the  whole 
country  made  more  beautiful.  It  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  grow  the  trees  needed  for  this  plant- 
ing, and  the  sowing  of  the  seeds,  their  trans- 
planting and  winter  protection  are  quite  sim- 
ilar to  the  care  necessary  in  raising  perennials 
from  seed,  infinitely  more  interesting,  and 
require  only  a  small  corner  of  the  vegetable 
garden  for  seed-beds  and  nursery. 

A  little  seed-bed,  four  feet  by  six  feet,  and 
a  couple  of  rows  twenty  feet  long  for  a  nur- 
sery where  the  seedlings  could  be  transplanted 
to  live  for  a  year  or  two,  is  all  the  space  re- 
quired to  raise  many  trees — enough  at  least  to 
fully  plant  a  place  of  ten  acres,  as  well  as  to 
furnish  an  occupation  and  a  delightful  source 
of  interest  to  all  the  members  of  a  family. 

May  the  present  lively  interest  in  tree 
planting  and  forest  culture  continue  and  in- 
crease, until  everywhere  our  waste  lands  and 
denuded  hills  are  again  covered  with  growing 
timber  with  all  its  beauty  of  form  and  coloring. 

116 


FERTILIZERS   AND    HOW  TO  APPLY 

THEM,  TOGETHER  WITH  SOME 

PLANT  REMEDIES 


CHAPTER    V 

FERTILIZERS   AND   HOW   TO    APPLY    THEM, 
TOGETHER   WITH    SOME    PLANT    REMEDIES 

TT^ORMERLY,  the  feeding  of  infants  was  a 
comparatively  simple  matter.  They  were 
given  milk,  and,  after  the  first  few  months,  a 
cereal;  but  today  the  nourishment  of  young 
children  has  become  serious  and  intricate, 
and  the  food  of  each  child  is  prepared  accord- 
ing to  a  special  prescription,  moderated  thus 
and  so  from  "  milk  from  the  top  of  the  bot- 
tle ;"  one  cannot  wonder  if  the  hair  of  grand- 
mothers left  in  charge  of  their  children's 
children  becomes  prematurely  white  in  con- 
sequence. 

In  former  times,  the  gardener  used  only 
manure,  or  if  he  were  quite  advanced  in  his 
craft,  some  bone  meal,  as  stimulants  for  his 
flowers.  Fertilizers,  today,  are  as  many  in 

119 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

« 

number  as  the  prescriptions  for  infants'  foods, 
and,  in  the  seedsmen's  catalogues,  many  dif- 
ferent varieties  are  listed  for  the  various 
fruits,  for  vegetables,  and  for  the  flower  gar- 
den. Not  all  are  necessary,  but  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  different  requirements  of  the  va- 
rious flowers,  of  the  food  best  suited  to  each 
plant  with  which  it  will  achieve  the  best 
results,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  studies 
of  the  modern  gardener. 

Among  our  friends,  there  are  some  who  can- 
not eat  red  meats,  uncooked  fruits,  salads,  or 
other  foods.  The  fact  is  accepted  without 
comment,  and  the  hostess  provides  such  arti- 
cles of  diet  for  her  guests  as  are  best  suited  to 
their  conditions.  Why,  therefore,  should  not 
the  plants  that  reward  us  with  such  luxuri- 
ant bloom  for  the  care  bestowed  upon  them 
receive  each  the  nourishment  upon  which  it 
thrives  the  best?  Chief  and  best  of  all  for 
grass,  vegetable  and  flower  gardens,  is  cow 
manure  which  should  be  at  least  five  or  six 
months  old  before  it  is  used;  fresh  and  finely 

120 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

ground  bone  meal  is  invaluable  for  roses, 
young  trees,  and  many  flowers;  poudrette,  a 
preparation  of  native  guano,  sold  by  Dreer  of 
Philadelphia,  is  a  clean,  odorless  fertilizer, 
rich  in  ammonia,  and  excellent  for  many  per- 
ennials especially  the  phlox. 

Soot,  which  may  be  bought  by  the  bushel 
or  taken  from  the  chimneys,  is  the  best  possi- 
ble nutriment  for  bay  trees  and  box,  and, 
when  mixed  with  equal  portions  of  sulphur 
and  dusted  upon  plants  in  an  incipient  stage 
of  mildew,  will  cause  its  immediate  arrest. 

Bon  Arbor,  a  commercial  fertilizer  recently 
placed  upon  the  market,  has  a  wonderful 
effect  upon  dahlias,  heliotrope,  petunias  and 
many  annuals.  This  is  an  expensive  fertil- 
izer, costing  thirty  dollars  a  hundred  pounds, 
but  a  little  goes  a  long  way,  as  one  pound  is 
dissolved  in  thirty  gallons  of  water,  and  the 
dose  consists  of  half  a  pint  of  the  solution 
poured  slowly  on  the  ground  directly  over  the 
roots  of  the  plants.  The  earth  should  not  be 
wet  for  twenty-four  hours  before  nor  for 

121 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

twenty-four  hours  after  the  tonic  is  applied. 
Its  results  amply  reward  one  both  for  the 
time  consumed  in  administering  and  for  the 
expense.  The  application  may  be  repeated 
in  ten  days,  and  afterward  every  three  weeks, 
if  advisable. 

Sheep  manure,  either  in  liquid  form  or 
used  dry,  is  an  excellent  fertilizer  for  peren- 
nials. 

Then,  there  is  nitrate  of  soda,  which  does 
not  stimulate  root-growth,  but  is  valuable  in 
producing  rapid  increase  in  bloom  and  tends 
to  give  more  brilliant  coloring  to  the  blos- 
soms. This  product  should  be  regarded,  how- 
ever, as  a  quickening  tonic,  for  use  somewhat 
as  nitro-glycerine  is  prescribed  by  the  med- 
ical profession. 

No  fertilizer  will  produce  such  quick  results 
as  nitrate  of  soda  if  properly  used,  but,  if 
used  too  freely,  probably  no  other  fertilizer 
can  damage  the  plants  so  quickly.  Nitrate  of 
soda  should  be  used  as  sparingly  as  one 
sprinkles  sugar  upon  berries  or  cereal.  In  the 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

rose  garden,  my  men  make  a  little  trench  a 
few  inches  from  the  stalk,  around  each  rose- 
bush or  tree,  and  about  two  inches  deep, 
scatter  in  it  the  nitrate  of  soda^  and  cover 
with  earth;  when  the  whole  garden  has  been 
thus  treated,  we  turn*  on  the  water,  which 
then  gently  washes  the  tonic  to  the  roots  of 
the  roses.  This  has  been  done  the  past  two 
years  about  May  10th,  and  again  the  middle 
of  July,  with  excellent  results. 

Snapdragons  which  have  been  started  in  a 
hotbed  in  March,  and  set  out  in  the  garden  in 
mid-May,  will  begin  to  bloom  early  in  June, 
and  if  the  soil  in  which  they  are  grown  is  rich 
and  some  fine  bone  meal  be  dug  about  them 
when  first  set  out,  and  if  also  they  receive  a 
dose  of  liquid  cow  manure  every  two  weeks, 
they  will  continue  to  send  up  stalwart  stalks 
of  flowers  into  late  fall,  and  until  quite  thick 
ice  has  formed. 

I  know  an  excellent  woman  gardener  whose 
greatest  specialty  is  the  successful  raising  of 
stocks  and  snapdragons,  and  whose  plants 

123 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

bloom  continuously  with  strong,  tall  stalks 
and  flowers  of  wonderful  size  and  color.  Last 
year,  in  mid-October,  she  shifted  to  a  small 
greenhouse  snapdragons  and  stocks  that  had 
bloomed  in  the  garden  for  five  months,  when, 
the  tops  having  been  cut  down  somewhat, 
they  soon  began  to  bloom  again.  The  middle 
of  March,  she  sent  me  a  great  box  of  them. 
Allowing  for  a  month's  time  to  recuperate 
after  being  transplanted  to  the  greenhouse, 
these  two  annuals  bloomed  continuously  for 
nine  months. 

This  friend  is  often  accused  of  having 
special  and  secret  processes  for  raising  her 
snapdragons,  but,  although  she  and  her  gar- 
dener look  very  wise,  they  disclaim  any  treat- 
ment other  than  that  described,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  plenty  of  water. 

The  Poudrett'e  can  be  dug  about  phlox  and 
hollyhocks  soon  after  they  start  to  grow,  and 
a  second  dose  given  the  phlox,  when  the  heads 
of  their  first  blossoms  have  been  cut  off,  will 
assist  the  plants  greatly  in  forming  their  sec- 

124 


A  BIT  OF  PINK  BORDER 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

ond  crop.  But  there  is  really  nothing  better 
than  cow  manure  for  the  phlox,  and,  also,  if 
used  in  limited  quantities,  for  hollyhocks. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  Richardia 
alba,  or  white  calla  lily,  which  is  a  native  of 
Egypt  and  flourishes  in  the  rich  alluvial  soil 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  also  growing  suc- 
cessfully in  California  in  irrigated  fields,  can 
be  grown  with  excellent  effect  in  one's  garden, 
if  started  by  March  1st  in  the  hotbeds  in  very 
rich  soil  and  given  a  daily  soaking. 

The  plants  may  be  set  out  when  the  ground 
is  warm,  in  May,  but  the  earth  of  the  bed 
where  they  are  to  grow  should  be  made  rich 
with  cow  manure.  The  beds  must  always  be 
well  watered  once  a  day,  and  in  dry  weather, 
twice.  About  half  a  trowelful  of  bone  meal  v 
dug  about  each  plant  when  first  set  out  will 
greatly  assist  them. 

Last  summer,  I  planted  sixty  calla  lilies  in 
a  large  bed,  set  white  snapdragons  between 
them,  and  edged  the  bed  with  giant  white 
fringed  petunias.  The  effect  was  all  that 

125 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

could  be  desired  until  the  middle  of  July, 
when  the  rich  soil  and  abundant  watering 
(for  even  when  in  the  drought  water  had 
become  the  most  precious  of  fluids,  this  bed 
was  kept  wet)  caused  the  snapdragons  and 
petunias  to  vie  with  each  other  in  such  ram- 
pant growth  that  the  calla  lilies  were  almost 
crowded  out  of  existence,  so  that  it  would 
seem  better  to  plant  the  calla  lilies  in  a  mass 
by  themselves. 

Bon  Arbor  applied  to  petunias,  heliotropes, 
verbenas,  asters,  stocks  and  dahlias,  produces 
marvelous  results;  the  blossoms  are  unusual 
in  size  and  brilliant  in  color  and  it  seems  as  if 
one  could  almost  see  the  plants  grow. 

Last  year,  the  seeds  of  the  twentieth  Cen- 
tury dahlias  were  sown  in  the  hotbeds  in 
March.  They  germinated  quickly  and  grew 
so  rapidly  that  they  crowded  against  the 
glass,  which  made  it  necessary  to  transplant 
them  to  the  garden  quite  early  in  May. 
They  were  set  in  ordinary  garden  soil,  not 
very  rich,  and  at  once  treated  with  applica- 

126 


Decorative  effect  of  a  potted  plant 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

tions  of  Bon  Arbor,  with  the  result  that  the 
first  blossom  made  its  appearance  May  25th, 
an  unprecedented  time  for  dahlia's  to  bloom. 
All  the  other  varieties  of  dahlias  were  simi- 
larly treated  with  Bon  Arbor  and  between  the 
applications  watered  copiously,  being  kept  as 
moist  as  the  Japanese  Iris,  resulting  in  great 
luxuriance  of  bloom  with  perfection  of  form 
and  color.  When,  however,  drought  set  in, 
and  the  sun  burned  daily  through  its  course, 
and  the  southwest  wind  ceased  not  to  blow, 
evaporating  immediately  the  scanty  supply 
of  water  given  the  plants,  their  bloom  was 
greatly  diminished,  and  we  became  convinced 
that,  in  addition  to  this  particular  fertilizer 
which  seemed  to  agree  with  it,  the  dahlias 
need  continuously  an  ample  supply  of  water. 
A  farmer's  wife,  who  took  a  first  prize  at 
the  county  fair  for  a  collection  of  dahlias, 
told  me  that  she  poured  all  her  wash-water  on 
the  ground  over  their  roots.  The  potash  from 
the  soap  as  well  as  the  water  may  be  valu- 
able for  dahlias. 

127 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

The  verbenas  responded  to  the  tonic  of 
Bon  Arbor  by  remaining  a  sheet  of  color 
from  June  until  late  in  October,  and  the 
giant  ruffled  petunias  were  indeed  giants  of 
their  kind. 

Heliotrope  and  stocks,  as  well  as  the  asters, 
were  most  grateful  for  their  meals  of  Bon 
Arbor,  the  heliotrope  yielding  clusters  the 
largest  and  darkest  in  color  we  have  ever 
raised.  They  seemed  to  be  unaffected  by 
the  drought,  and  continued  to  bloom  until 
killed  by  the  frost. 

Stocks  will  benefit  by  a  small  amount  of 
bone  meal  given  them  when  first  set  out  and 
again  at  the  end  of  two  months;  and  if  the 
asters,  when  ready  to  bud,  receive,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  Bon  Arbor,  a  little  wood -ashes, 
together  with  a  very  little  nitrate  of  soda, 
and  have,  besides,  rich  soil  and  plenty  of 
water,  they  will  produce  larger  flowers  and 
more  abundantly. 

All  the  campanula  family,  especially  the 
Campanula  medium,  the  Canterbury  bell, 

128 


FERTILIZERS   AND    PLANT  REMEDIES 

like  a  soil  rich  with  cow  manure,  and  if  given 
a  trowelful  of  bone  meal  about  the  end  of 
April  will  produce  wonderful  plants,  aston- 
ishing one  in  June  by  the  amount  of  blos- 
soms which  each  plant  will  bear.  The  fox- 
gloves, while  preferring  a  soil  in  which  leaf- 
mold  predominates,  do  finely  in  the  borders 
and  are  also  glad  of  some  bone  meal  in  April. 
This  tonic  is  also  essential  for  the  roses, 
and  should  be  given  them  in  the  spring  and 
again  in  midsummer. 

Sheep  manure  administered  to  the  Japa- 
nese anemones,  either  dry,  when  a  trowelful 
may  be  dug  about  the  plants  every  month 
after  growth  begins  in  the  spring,  or  applied 
in  liquid  form  at  three -weeks  intervals,  results 
in  marvelous  growth,  two-year-old  plants 
sending  up  many  stalks  of  their  beautiful 
blossoms. 

If  sheep  manure  be  fed  in  the  same  manner 
to  the  salpiglossis,  the  effect  is  equally  satis- 
factory. 

Constant  iteration  of  the  need  of  fertilizer 
129 


THE   PRACTICAL    FLOWER  GARDEN 

becomes  tiresome,  but  herbaceous  plants  and 
flowering  shrubs  are  great  feeders,  and,  as 
they  must  be  closely  planted  to  secure  good 
effect,  the  soil  soon  becomes  exhausted,  and 
the  spring  feeding  and  entire  remaking  of 
herbaceous  borders  every  three  or  four  years 
is  a  necessity  if  one  would  have  the  finest 
plants. 

Shortly  after  my  first  book  was  published, 
a  somewhat  elderly  man  friend  whose  mind 
is  delightfully  cultivated,  whose  sole  recrea- 
tion is  the  study  of  English  literature,  and 
who  knows  no  more  about  gardening  than 
about  the  construction  of  flying-machines, 
remarked  that  it  was  painful  to  make  such  a 
criticism,  but  it  seemed  to  him  somewhat 
shocking  that  a  nice  woman  (the  nice  prob- 
ably meaning  refined)  should  so  often  refer 
to  manures. 

Now,  as  may  be  imagined,  this  was  far 
more  painful  for  me  to  hear  than  for  him  to 
say.  Meeting,  shortly  after,  a  woman  who 
was  an  excellent  and  enthusiastic  gardener, 

130 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

whose  "  sensibility  "  even  Jane  Austen  might 
have  admired,  I  asked  her  honest  opinion 
upon  the  subject,  and  was  told  in  reply  that 
in  her  experience,  also,  all  success  in  garden- 
ing depended  upon  the  preparation  and  fer- 
tilization of  the  soil,  and  that  without  man- 
ures nothing  could  be  done;  she  further  told 
me  that  in  answer  to  her  husband's  inquiry 
one  day,  what  he  should  give  her  for  a  birth- 
day present,  she  had  answered,  "  Two  car- 
loads of  manure  for  the  garden." 

After  the  animal  manures,  decomposed 
vegetable  matter,  which  the  expert  now 
refers  to  as  humus,  is  the  most  valuable  con- 
stituent of  the  soil.  This  material  is  within 
the  reach  of  every  one  who  has  even  a  small 
place.  By  gathering  and  saving  carefully  all 
the  autumn  leaves,  turning  them  several 
times  during  the  year  until  they  are  decom- 
posed, you  will  have  them  in  condition  to 
return  to  the  soil  in  the  form  of  humus  or 
leaf -mold,  and  give  to  the  plants  the  nitro- 
gen so  necessary  to  their  growth. 

131 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

Two  years  ago  I  attacked  an  herbaceous 
border  that  had  not  been  made  over  for  five 
years,  only  top-fertilized  during  that  time. 
The  border  is  a  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long 
and  about  twelve  feet  wide,  with  an  irregular 
edge.  Many  varieties  of  perennials  grew  in  it 
whose  colors  had  become  mixed,  and  it  was 
far  from  satisfactory.  First,  all  the  plants 
were  lifted  and  the  bed  dug  out,  then 
twelve  wagonloads  of  cow  manure,  two  hun- 
dred pounds  of  bone  meal,  a  quantity  of  leaf- 
mold,  with  a  good  sprinkling  of  both  lime  and 
wood-ashes,  were  put  in  and  thoroughly 
incorporated  with  the  soil;  the  border  was 
then  planted  with  choice  varieties  of  phlox, 
massed  in  shades  carefully  blended  of  cherry, 
pink,  and  white;  at  intervals,  groups  of  the 
taller  varieties  were  brought  toward  the 
front,  to  prevent  a  rigid  line;  occasional 
groups  of  foxgloves  were  also  planted,  and 
the  whole  border  was  edged  with  sweet  wil- 
liams  in  the  same  colors,  which  are  taken  out 
when  they  have  finished  blooming  and  fol- 

132 


FERTILIZERS    AND    PLANT   REMEDIES 

lowed  by  asters  in  shades  of  pink.  The  bor- 
der contains  about  eight  hundred  plants  of 
phlox,  about  five  hundred  foxgloves,  and 
innumerable  tulips,  both  early  and  late,  care- 
fully set  in  sand,  planted  wherever  there  was 
room  for  a  bulb.  For  four  months  this  border 
is  continuously  effective  in  color,  ranging  from 
cherry  to  white. 

Very  fine  horn  shavings,  dissolved  in  the 
proportion  of  a  peck  to  a  kerosene -oil  barrel 
of  water,  and  stirred  well  every  day  for  three 
days,  and  then  a  pint  of  this  solution  poured 
upon  the  earth  every  two  weeks,  for  cannas, 
dracsenas  and  all  foliage  plants,  has  wonder- 
ful effect.  This  fertilizer  is  much  used  in 
Germany.  Vaughn,  of  New  York,  is  the  only 
seedsman  who  catalogues  it. 

Scotch  soot,  applied  twice  a  month  to  foli- 
age plants,  a  little  being  dug  lightly  into  the 
soil,  increases  the  brilliancy  of  their  color. 

If  one  could  only  invent  some  treatment 
or  some  fertilizer  that  would  prolong  the 
period  of  bloom  of  the  peonies,  or  produce  a 

133 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

second  crop  of  the  blossoms  of  these  most 
beautiful  flowers,  what  a  benefactor  to  gar- 
deners that  person  would  be!  I  have  often 
thought  of  addressing  a  petition  to  the  great 
Burbank  upon  the  subject. 

During  the  last  five  years  the  peonies  in 
my  garden  have  been  fed  about  August  15th, 
at  the  same  time  with  and  similarly  to  aspar- 
agus, with  cow  manure  and  bone  meal,  and 
the  wonderful  increase  in  the  size  of  the  plants 
and  in  the  number  of  blooms  leads  me  to 
believe  that  the  blossom-bearing  buds  of 
peonies,  like  those  of  asparagus,  form  in 
August  or  September  for  the  flowers  of  the 
following  year. 

By  this  treatment,  with  the  addition  of  a 
winter  mulch  of  cow  manure  which  is  lightly 
forked  into  the  ground  as  soon  as  frost  is  out 
in  the  spring,  and  about  half  a  trowelful  of 
nitrate  of  soda  sprinkled  over  the  crown  of 
each  plant  and  immediately  watered  in,  the 
asparagus  is  made  to  yield  abundantly  from 
about  the  first  of  May  to  the  middle  of  June, 

134 


FERTILIZERS    AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

when  it  rests  for  a  month.  Then  we  again 
have  asparagus  for  three  weeks,  and  cease 
cutting  it  while  still  bearing  freely,  for  fear 
of  injuring  the  roots. 

The  number  of  plant  diseases  increases  so 
rapidly  that  the  harried  gardener  no  sooner 
has  conquered  one  trouble  than  another 
appears,  and  the  spray-machine  is  in  con- 
stant use  in  the  fight  against  insect  destroy- 
ers and  microbe  diseases.  Vigilance  which 
enables  one  to  detect  an  enemy  in  the  very 
beginning,  and  constant  care,  generally  win 
the  fight  against  everything  but  the  terrible 
drought,  where  one  is  powerless.  Even  though 
the  water-supply  remains  sufficient,  the  con- 
tinued dryness  of  the  atmosphere,  dewless 
nights,  constant  winds,  with  the  sun  burning 
down  upon  the  lawns  and  gardens,  destroy 
their  vitality  and  check  their  growth.  In  dry 
weather,  constant  stirring  of  the  soil  to  the 
depth  of  a  couple  of  inches  to  maintain  a 
loose  mulch,  or  a  mulch  of  leaves,  lawn  clip- 

135 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

pings  or  old  manure,  are  our  greatest  hope. 
I  often  feel  as  if  all  battles  against  plant  dis- 
eases, insects  and  microbes  might  be  won 
without  serious  disaster,  and  happiness  might 
reign  always  in  our  gardens,  if  only  we 
could  have  abundant  rains;  but  to  see  the 
plants  which  started  bravely  into  life  in  the 
spring  begin  to  wither  and  starve  from 
drought  when  midsummer  luxuriance  should 
be  reached,  is  almost  unbearable  for  those 
who  love  their  flowers. 

A  new  disease  has  very  recently  appeared 
in  our  gardens  which  I  have  not  heard  called 
by  name.  It  is  a  blight  which  attacks  the 
larkspurs,  particularly  the  taller  varieties, 
causes  the  leaves  first  to  turn  black,  then  to 
shrivel  and  fall  off,  and  blights  and  blackens 
the  blossom.  Kelway  of  England,  the  largest 
grower  of  delphiniums,  says  that  he  has  never 
known  any  disease  to  attack  these  plants  in 
his  nursery,  and,  until  the  middle  of  last  June, 
my  garden  has  been  equally  immune.  Fear- 
ing that  the  trouble  might  prove  contagious, 

136 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

I  took  the  drastic  method  of  digging  up  all 
the  plants  attacked — between  forty  and  fifty, 
which  was  a  large  proportion  of  the  nearly 
six  hundred  growing  in  the  garden — and 
burned  them.  Alas!  a  number  of  these  were 
from  eight  to  ten  years  old,  and  the  largest, 
oldest  and  most  vigorous  plants  in  the  garden, 
so  that  it  was  a  heart-rending  operation 
both  to  me  and  to  the  men.  All  the  remain- 
ing plants  were  immediately  sprayed  with 
Bordeaux  mixture,  which  spraying  was 
repeated  every  month.  This  coming  spring, 
when  the  plants  first  start,  they  will  again  be 
well  sprayed  and  the  ground  over  the  roots 
also  thoroughly  wet  with  the  Bordeaux,  and 
this  treatment  will  be  given  them  twice  after- 
ward at  intervals  of  three  weeks,  in  the  hope 
that  the  devastating  trouble  will  thus  be  con- 
quered. Several  of  the  veronicas  were  afflicted 
in  the  same  way,  and  were  given  the  same 
prescription. 

From  many  gardens  comes  a  complaint  of 
mildew  affecting  the  climbing  roses,  some  of 

137 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

the  hybrid  teas,  and  the  phlox,  more  particu- 
larly the  white  and  light  varieties.  No  one 
knows  why  mildew  should  appear  upon 
plants  grown  in  full  sun,  when  it  is  a  disease 
supposed  to  appear  only  in  shady  places  or 
after  a  considerable  period  of  very  warm, 
damp  weather.  Mildew  increases  with  mush- 
room-like rapidity.  An  instance  of  this  oc- 
curred in  the  great  phlox  border  in  my  garden 
late  last  June.  I  had  been  away  for  two  days 
only.  All  of  this  time  the  men  had  been 
employed  at  the  other  end  of  the  place,  and 
no  one  had  made  a  daily  tour,  with  the  keen 
lookout  for  trouble  that  is  as  necessary  in 
the  flower  garden  as  in  the  nursery  of  young 
children,  and  upon  returning  home  late  in 
the  afternoon  I  made,  as  is  customary  after 
an  absence,  a  careful  tour  of  the  place,  when 
to  my  amazement  and  horror  I  found  that 
several  .clumps,  of  probably  fifty  each,  of  my 
loveliest  variety  of  pale  pink  phlox  were  so 
covered  with  mildew  as  to  resemble  giant 
plants  of  dusty  miller.  Early  the  next  morn- 

138 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

ing  they  were  all  dug  up,  the  tops  cut  down 
to  the  roots,  the  plants  then  set  in*  a  row  in 
the  vegetable  garden,  and  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  soot  and  flowers  of  sulphur  powdered 
over  them.  All  the  other  phlox  in  the  garden, 
were  first  sprinkled  and  then  treated  with 
the  soot  and  sulphur — and  rather  ghastly 
they  looked. 

The  sick  plants  that  had  been  transferred 
suffered  from  being  removed  in  full  summer, 
and  a  number  of  them  died,  but  the  survi- 
vors came  up  without  a  trace  of  mildew. 

Setting  rows  of  plants  in  the  vegetable  gar- 
den has  become  so  constant  an  occurrence 
that  my  men  now  often  ask  "Where?"  and 
say  there  is  no  more  room,  or  that  soon  the 
vegetable  garden  will  be  nothing  but  a  flower 
garden. 

The  Garden  Club  of  Philadelphia,  an  asso- 
ciation of  enthusiastic  and  earnest  women 
gardeners,  each  of  whom  is  her  own  head 
gardener,  have,  by  attention,  experiment  and 
observation,  made  many  valuable  discover- 

139 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

ies  upon  the  treatment  of  special  plants,  fer- 
tilizers and  insecticides. 

From  them  I  learned  of  a  death-dealing 
dose  for  the  omnipresent  rose  bug  which  has 
reduced  this  pest  in  my  own  garden  to  a  few 
survivors  easily  destroyed  by  hand. 

MIXTURE    FOR    ROSE    BUGS 

3  pints  of  any  kind  of  sweet  milk 
3  pints  of  kerosene 
1  quart  of  water 

Mix  in  something  that  can  be  shaken, — a 
demijohn  is  excellent, — shake  for  a  few  min- 
utes, add  one-half  pint  of  the  mixture  to  one 
gallon  of  water,  stir  well,  then  spray  this 
diluted  mixture  on  the  rose  bushes,  also  wet 
the  ground  thoroughly  over  the  roots,  and 
apply  it  gently  with  the  fingers  to  the  rose 
buds.  It  should  be  used  every  ten  days  from 
May  1  to  the  middle  of  June,  and  as  the  larvae 
of  the  rose  bug  are  in  the  ground,  this  treat- 
ment seems  to  prevent  them  from  coming  to 
life,  and  relieves  us  from  one  of  our  greatest 
trials.  The  same  treatment  may  be  given 

140 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

to  the  white  Japanese  iris,  as  the  rose  bugs 
delight  also  to  feed  upon  this  choice  flower. 

The  most  efficient  remedy  for  the  thrip, 
the  small  yellow-white  fly,  which  settles  upon 
the  under  side  of  the  leaves  of  the  rose  bushes, 
and  so  devours  them  that  soon  only  the  skel- 
eton of  a  leaf  remains,  is  spraying  with  a  solu- 
tion of  whale-oil  soap;  two  applications  a 
week  apart  will  destroy  them,  but  the  odor 
from  the  whale  oil  is  unpleasant  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  particularly  so  at  the  sunset  hour; 
it  is  a  good  plan,  therefore,  to  be  absent  when 
the  whale-oil  soap  is  used. 

The  rose  caterpillar  is  hatched  from  the 
egg  of  a  moth,  rolls  itself  in  the  green  leaves 
of  the  bushes,  and  seems  to  be  unaffected  by 
any  poison.  As  this  creature  has  a  voracious 
appetite  and  devours  both  the  young  rose 
buds  and  the  green  leaves,  he  must  be  gotten 
rid  of  in  some  way.  But,  until  now,  hand- 
picking  seems  to  be  the  only  effective  way. 

A  solution  of  London  purple,  one-half 
pound  to  fifty  gallons  of  water,  sprayed  upon 

141 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

the  aster  plants  when  the  buds  begin  to 
form,  seems  to  be  a  preventive  for  the  aster 
beetle,  another  of  the  garden's  deadly  ene- 
mies. Slug  shot  and  lime,  one  pound  of  each, 
well  mixed,  are  also  efficacious  weapons  in 
the  fight  against  this  black  wretch. 

It  would  seem  as  if  no  possible  success 
with  flowers  could  be  worth  all  the  trouble  of 
fertilizing  and  spraying  and  careful  watching 
that  is  necessary;  but,  believe  me,  much  of 
the  interest  lies  in  making  the  experiment 
and  the  effort,  and  if  you  put  up  a  good  fight 
you  generally  win  out  in  the  end  and  have 
the  great  satisfaction  of  succeeding. 

The  flower  gardener  cannot  become  lazy. 
She  must  not  think  that  by  merely  planting 
zinnias,  nasturtiums  and  poppies,  she  has 
done  the  whole  duty  of  a  gardener,  but  she 
must  be  willing  to  study  the  soil  in  order  to 
find  out  what  her  plants  like  to  eat;  she  must 
learn  about  insecticides  in  order  to  protect 
her  flowers  from  the  hungry  creatures  wait- 
ing to  destroy  them;  she  must  find  which 

142 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

plants  live  best  together;  she  must  be  willing 
to  take  up  her  borders  and  make*  them  over 
every  three  or  four  years;  she  must  think 
ahead  and  plan  one  year  for  the  next;  she 
should  also  have  patience  and  be  willing  to 
endeavor  next  year  to  succeed  with  that 
which  has  been  a  failure  this  year;  she  must 
also  be  a  person  of  much  courage,  because 
there  will  be  years  when  the  rose  bugs,  the 
black  beetle  and  the  white  grub  will  appear 
in  swarms  and  do  their  worst;  when  the  rust 
will  destroy  the  hollyhocks,  mildew  whiten 
her  choice  plants,  and  drought  finish  almost 
everything  else.  There  will  come  times  when 
she  will  declare  that  she  will  plough  up  the 
whole  garden  and  plant  potatoes  and  go  off 
and  spend  the  summer  in  Europe;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  will  be  years  when  her  sum- 
mer will  be  one  of  joy,  for  her  peonies  and 
iris  will  be  magnificent,  the  many-shaded 
larkspur  towering  and  luxuriant,  the  rose 
bugs  absent  in  some  distant  state,  and  her 
song  will  be  one  of  continual  triumph. 

143 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

Such  a  time  of  delight  was  mine  last  spring. 
It  was  in  May,  and  a  party  of  choice  spirits 
gathered  at  the  old  farmhouse  on  a  Friday,  to 
spend  Sunday.  They  arrived  in  the  midst  of 
a  cold  rainstorm, — one  of  those  storms  which 
so  often  comes  in  May,  and  which  the  farmer 
calls  the  blossom  storm.  Gathering  about 
the  great  log  fire  at  nightfall,  we  wondered 
how  the  tender  growing  things  without  could 
survive,  and  one  of  my  friends,  a  man  whose 
name  is  known  and  whose  books  are  read 
wherever  people  care  for  art  and  literature,  said 
to  me  over  the  tea-cups  "Have  you  not  a  gar- 
den or  something?"  and  after  acknowledging 
something  of  a  garden,  I,  in  turn,  inquired  if 
he  cared  for  gardening.  He  answered,  "  No; 
there  is  generally  an  angel  in  the  pool,  and 
there  are  always  gravel  walks,  and  I  hate  to 
walk  upon  gravel  walks,  and  besides,  I  have 
a  garden  in  my  imagination  where  there  are 
only  white  flowers  surrounded  with  green 
setting."  When  I  went  to  bed  that  night  I 
leaned  out  of  the  window  to  see  what  was  the 

144 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

prospect  of  fair  weather  for  the  ^next  day; 
the  rain  was  coming  down  steadily,  the  wind 
howled  up  the  valley,  the  great  locusts  tower- 
ing over  the  roof  tossed  their  arms  about  in 
distress,  and  fair  weather  seemed  far  distant. 
But  in  the  early  morning  the  robins  were 
singing  their  May  song,  the  sunshine  was 
brilliant,  and  all  without  seemed  to  be  a  new 
created  world.  I  could  scarcely  wait  until 
the  grass  had  dried  off  a  little  to  invite  my 
friend  to  come  out  with  me  to  the  garden. 
Standing  at  the  entrance  we  looked  down 
upon  the  hemlock  hedges  tipped  with  fresh 
green;  upon  all  the  evergreens  clothed  in  their 
spring  garments;  the  box  edging  was  covered 
with  new  growth;  the  turf  was  thick  and  fine 
and,  surrounded  by  ^this  green  setting,  there 
were  certainly  two  thousand  blossoms  of  the 
German  iris,  Silver  King,  silvery  white  as  its 
name  indicates, — and  my  friend  was  able  to 
see  with  his  eyes  the  garden  of  his  imagina- 
tion. Such  a  moment  repays  one  for  many 
seasons  of  battle  with  insects  and  bugs,  with 

145 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

the  rust  that  destroyeth  in  the  noonday  and 
with  the  burning  drought. 

My  own  garden  has  been  struggled  with 
and  worked  over  and  developed  gradually 
for  many  years,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury (a  quarter  of  a  century  seems  much 
longer  than  twenty -five  years);  but  I  some- 
times wish  that  it  had  all  been  planned  out 
at  the  beginning  by  some  landscape  architect, 
although  it  might  then  lack  in  natural  charm. 

Unless  one  has  had  great  experience,  a 
country  place  should  be  planned  by  an  expert. 
One  may  choose  a  person  whose  work  is  sat- 
isfactory elsewhere,  and  who  is  likely  to  lend 
an  ear  to  the  pleas  of  the  owner;  but  when 
once  planned  and  planted,  if  a  woman  cares 
at  all  about  gardens  and  flowers,  other  than 
American  Beauty  roses  with  three  feet  of 
stem  and  moon-faced  chrysanthemums,  she 
should  maintain  the  position  of  being  her  own 
head  gardener.  Her  garden  will  thus  become 
an  expression  of  her  own  individuality  and  be 
quite  different  from  those  of  her  neighbors. 

146 


FERTILIZERS   AND   PLANT   REMEDIES 

She  should  herself  decide  what  she  wishes  to 
have  planted,  and  where  and  how.  If  a  gar- 
den is  in  charge  of  a  professional  gardener, 
he  will  generally  do  that  which  is  being  done 
by  the  other  men  of  his  kind  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, so  that  the  garden  will  be  like  any 
one  of  a  dozen.  By  taking  this  personal 
interest  in  her  garden  the  owner's  health  will 
be  greatly  benefited,  she  will  maintain  her 
activity  and,  above  all,  there  will  be  an  added 
interest  in  life.  The  more  time  and  thought 
we  spend  upon  our  gardens  and  our  plants, 
the  dearer  they  will  become,  and  because  of 
this  constant  contact  with  nature,  though 
our  years  may  be  many,  we  cannot  grow  old 
because  of  the  eternal  Spring  that  reigns  in 
our  hearts. 

"A  garden  is  a  lovesome  thing,  God  wot, 
Rose  plot,  fringed  pool,  ferned  grot; 
The  veriest  school  of  peace. 
And  yet  the  fool  contends  that  God  is  not. 
Not  God  in  gardens  when  the  eve  is  cool ! 
Nay,  but  I  have  a  sign; 
Tis  very  sure  God  walks  in  mine." 


147 


A  LITTLE  ABOUT  TERRACES  AND 
THEIR  TREATMENT 


CHAPTER  VI 


A   LITTLE   ABOUT    TERRACES   AND    THEIR 
TREATMENT 


castles  and  houses  of  landed  gentry 
in  Europe  were  often  built,  in  earliest 
times,  with  terraces,  which  served  as  a  view- 
point, a  place  to  walk  and  take  the  air,  and 
for  the  beginnings  of  gardening  which  were 
carried  on  in  some  sheltered  corner  of  the 
terrace  between  the  castle,  or  house,  and  the 
surrounding  walls.  Here  the  monks  in  the 
monastery  first  grew  herbs  and  simples,  a  few 
flowers,  and  the  earliest  cultivated  vegetables 
and  fruits.  Here,  in  the  unsettled  times  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  the  women  of  the  house- 
hold took  their  recreation,  and  found  a  refuge 
from  the  eternal  tapestry  web  or  singing  to 
the  lute,  and  also  tended  the  herbs  with  which 
cooling  draughts  and  healing  dressings  were 

151 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

prepared  for  their  lords  when  wounded  in 
the  fray. 

The  terrace,  but  a  step  or  two  below  the 
house,  is  an  open  space  inviting  one  to  out- 
of-doors,  commanding  a  view  either  across 
the  distant  country,  or  of  smooth  lawns  with 
pond  or  stream  beyond,  or  looking  directly 
down  upon  the  formal  flower  garden,  and  is  a 
delightful  adjunct  to  the  modern  country 
houses,  however  modest,  recently  built  in 
the  Northern  and  Middle  States.  The  ad- 
vantages of  the  terrace  have  become  so  con- 
vincing that  the  piazza,  formerly  of  almost 
universal  construction  in  the  country,  is 
being  gradually  dispensed  with. 

An  objection  sometimes  made  against  the 
terrace  is  its  lack  of  protection  from  sun  and 
wind  and  weather.  But  awnings  may  be 
readily  and  simply  put  up,  and  if  the  terrace 
surrounds  either  two  sides,  or  a  portion  of  two 
sides,  of  the  house,  there  will  always  be  some 
place  free  from  too  strong  sun  or  wind.  For 
pavement,  brick,  red  tile,  marble  or  flat  field- 

152 


TERRACES    AND   THEIR   TREATMENT 

stones  of  irregular  shape  are  used,  according 
to  the  style  of  the  house. 

Our  own  house,  built  before  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  which  has  only  small  porches  at 
the  entrances,  has  a  simple  terrace  laid  in  old 
brick  in  herring-bone  pattern.  Circular  open- 
ings surround  the  bases  of  the  locust  trees 
which  grow  near  the  house,  and  in  these 
spaces  the  earth  is  covered  with  periwinkle — 
blue  in  April  and  May  with  its  starry  flowers, 
and  green-leaved  all  the  year.  The  evergreen 
vine,  Euonymus  radicans,  is  planted  around 
the  trees,  and,  clinging  to  the  beautiful  rough 
bark  of  the  locusts,  climbs  far  up  among  their 
branches.  It  is  entirely  hardy  in  the  severest 
winters,  and  in  March  bravely  sends  forth 
tender  new  leaves  to  herald  the  spring.  Both 
the  lovely  periwinkle  and  the  euonymus  are  a 
delight  during  every  month  of  the  year. 

Should  the  ground  fall  away  rapidly  from 
the  house,  there  must,  of  necessity,  be  either 
a  bank  of  turf  or  a  retaining-wall  of  stone, 
brick  or  otherwise.  The  bank  of  green  turf  is, 

153 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

however,  except  where  the  house  is  elaborate 
or  Italian  in  style,  more  attractive,  partic- 
ularly if  the  house  is  not  immediately  adja- 
cent to  the  garden,  but  is  surrounded  only  by 
green  lawn  and  shrubbery.  When  an  Italian 
garden  is  spread  before  a  house  of  French  or 
Italian  architecture,  the  terrace  must  natu- 
rally be  adorned  with  formal  balustrades  and 
whatever  effects  may  be  in  keeping  with  house 
and  garden  of  such  design.  Formerly,  many 
flowers  were  grown  close  about  our  own  old 
house,  but  for  years  they  have  been  banished 
to  a  distance,  except  those  grown  in  pots  for 
terrace  decoration,  and  only  ferns,  rhododen- 
drons, small  evergreens,  trees  and  vines  grow 
near.  This  may  be  considered  severe  treat- 
ment, but  flowers  are  grown  in  such  abundance 
elsewhere  that  the  change  is  an  improvement. 
A  few  flowering  plants,  especially  grown  in 
pots  for  decoration  of  terraces  or  verandas, 
add  greatly  to  their  attraction,  and  are  per- 
haps a  survival  of  the  use  of  the  terrace  in 
early  times  as  a  garden  spot. 

154 


TERRACES   AND    THEIR   TREATMENT 

\ 

Those  who  have  traveled  in  Spain  and  Italy 

will  remember  the  effective  use  made  by 
gardeners  in  those  countries,  of  potted  plants 
upon  terraces,  verandas,  on  doorsteps,  and  in 
courtyards,  and  also  that  only  the  red  earthen 
flower-pot,  or  the  simple,  dull  green-glazed 
Italian  or  Spanish  pottery  are  used, — elabo- 
rate pots  and  jars  which  detract  from  the 
beauty  of  the  flowering  plants  being  avoided. 
A  few  plants  well  suited  for  terrace  or 
veranda  where  there  is  partial  shade  are:  the 
old-fashioned  fuchsias  which  bloom  contin- 
ually; gloxinias;  any  of  the  lilies  which  may 
be  carefully  lifted  from  the  garden  when  about 
three  inches  high,  potted,  two  or  more  in  a 
pot  according  to  size,  and  the  pots  sunk  to 
the  brim  in  the  ground,  to  be  brought  forward 
on  the  terrace  as  they  come  into  bloom,  and 
asters  and  salvias  which  may  be  treated  in 
the  same  way.  A  decoration  of  several  pots 
of  white  ostrich-plume  asters  followed  by  pink 
ones  is  always  admired.  Schizanthus  or  but- 
terfly flower,  and  the  new  yellow  or  pink 

155 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

celosia  remain  beautiful  for  several  weeks  and 
are  especially  suited  for  pot  culture  and  adorn- 
ment of  terraces. 

All  those  whose  houses  are  surrounded  by 
terraces  will  find  great  interest  in  growing  a 
succession  of  plants  in  pots  for  decoration; 
half  a  dozen  pots  of  a  kind  would  be  suffi- 
cient unless  the  terrace  is  very  large;  and 
even  if  there  is  no  flower  garden,  but  just  a 
little  corner  where  the  plants  can  be  raised 
and  nursed  into  perfection  to  bring  forward, 
they  will  give  an  infinite  amount  of  pleasure. 

The  tall-growing  Campanula  pyramidalis  is 
especially  beautiful.  Large,  strong  plants,  one 
year  old  in  May,  if  potted  and  fed  often 
with  liquid  manure,  bone  meal  and  a  tiny  bit 
of  nitrate  of  soda,  will  be  six  feet  high  by  the 
the  second  week  in  August,  and  remain  cover- 
ed with  either  white  or  blue  blossoms  for  a 
month.  This  plant  can  be  seen  in  its  greatest 
perfection  at  the  Church  of  St.  Anne  de 
Beaupre  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  below 
Quebec,  and  is  used  there,  growing  in  pots  in 

156 


TERRACES  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT 

great  quantities,  both  white  and  pale  blue,  as 
a  decoration  for  the  altar  and  chancel,  and 
surpasses  any  perennial  plant  I  have  ever 
seen.  These  plants  should  be  grown  in  partial 
shade,  to  secure  the  best  success.  They  do  not 
bloom  until  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  months 
after  the  seed  has  been  sown  in  the  open 
ground,  and  sometimes  go  over  until  the 
third  summer  before  blooming;  but  no  trouble 
is  too  great  to  grow  this  grand  campanula 
successfully. 

Pink  and  white  Canterbury  Bells  (Cam- 
panula medium)  which  remain  for  several 
weeks  in  bloom,  and  great  plants  of  cosmos, 
lifted  from  the  garden  and  set  in  tubs,  make 
beautiful  decorations. 

Where  people  are  disinclined  to  raise  flow- 
ering plants  for  the  terrace,  small  retinis- 
poras,  in  the  different  colorings,  will  be  quite 
satisfactory  when  used  with  bay  or  box  trees, 
to  give  height. 

Bay  and  box  trees  are  expensive,  but  long- 
lived  if  given  moderate  care,  and  the  white 

157 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

and  pink  oleanders  which  flower  continually 
are  also  well  worth  a  place  on  the  terrace  or 
in  the  garden.  These  three  varieties  need 
only  to  be  kept  clean,  nourished,  given  enough 
water,  not  allowed  to  freeze,  and  occasionally 
re-tubbed. 

When  the  tubs  containing  bay  and  box 
trees  and  oleanders  are  brought  forth  from 
their  winter  quarters,  they  require  immediate 
attention.  They  should  first  be  watered  with 
a  strong  force  to  cleanse  them  thoroughly,  and 
then  looked  over  for  scale,  which  should  be 
carefully  scraped  away;  if  the  bay  trees  have 
accumulated  any  black  mildew,  it  can  be 
scrubbed  off  with  a  nail-brush,  which,  al- 
though a  long  and  slow  process  if  the  trees  are 
large,  is  the  only  one  which  is  effective.  The 
trees  should  then  be  sprayed  with  a  strong 
solution  of  Ivory  soap,  some  of  the  earth 
removed  from  the  top  of  the  tubs,  and  some 
soot,  which  is  the  best  fertilizer  for  bay  and 
box  trees,  dug  in  about  the  roots,  and  the  tub 
then  filled  up  with  cow  manure.  The  tubs 

158 


TERRACES   AND   THEIR   TREATMENT 

may  then  be  painted,  when  the  trees  are  ready 
for  the  season's  duty. 

Second  only  to  the  bay  tree  in  formal 
decoration  is  English  ivy  grown  in  tubs  and 
trained  over  wire  frames,  pyramidal  in  form, 
which  may  be  had  from  three  to  seven  feet  or 
more  in  height.  The  ivy  covers  the  frame 
completely  and  compactly.  Tubs  of  ivy  can 
be  placed  to  advantage  at  the  top  of  a  flight 
of  steps,  along  the  edge  of  a  terrace,  by  a 
doorway,  at  the  entrance  to  a  garden,  and 
have  the  merit  of  not  being  very  expensive. 
Unless  one  is  sure  that  the  ivy  is  hardy,  it 
should  join  the  bay  and  box  trees  in  their 
winter  quarters. 

Hardy  ivy,  or  Euonymus  radicans,  trained 
to  grow  as  a  flat  border  about  eighteen  inches 
in  width  along  the  edge  of  the  terrace  that  is 
upheld  by  a  bank  of  turf,  gives  a  formal  finish 
that  is  satisfactory.  Box  edging  a  foot  in 
height  can  also  be  used  in  this  way. 

The  tubs  containing  American  arborvitae  or 
different  varieties  of  cedars,  both  of  which 

159 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

should  be  sheared  yearly,  make  an  attractive 
decoration  of  an  unenclosed  or  open  terrace, 
add  great  charm  to  the  house  in  winter,  and 
by  their  greenery  are  a  constant  source  of  joy 
to  those  who  live  near  them. 

Entirely  different  from  the  terrace  with 
artificial  flooring  of  tile  or  brick  surrounded 
by  balustrades  and  decorated  with  plants  and 
small  trees  growing  in  vases  or  tubs,  is  a 
smooth  grass  terrace  quite  fifty  feet  wide, 
upon  which  open  the  small-paned  windows  of 
an  old  house.  A  low  retaining  wall  of  great 
rough  stones  against  which  espaliers  of  peach 
and  pear  are  trained  separates  it  from  a 
gently  sloping  field.  The  only  decorations  of 
the  terrace  are  bushes  of  box  which  have 
survived  the  storms  of  perhaps  a  hundred 
winters,  and  keep  guard  in  the  outer  corners. 
Upon  one  side  of  the  terrace  opens  the  house; 
upon  two  other  sides  the  ground  falls  away 
into  smooth  pastures  where  sheep  nibble  the, 
sweet  grasses.  The  fourth  side  is  partly  en- 
closed by  a  stone  wall  about  ten  feet  high, 

160 


TERRACES  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT 

» 

covered  with  many  varieties  of  climbing 
roses,  having  a  wide  opening  leading  into  an 
orchard  of  beautiful  twisted  old  apple  trees 
which  are  cared  for  and  preserved  by  all  the 
science  of  the  modern  tree  doctor. 

This  grass  terrace  is  dignified  and  natural 
and  the  only  appropriate  surrounding  for  the 
old  house  before  which  it  lies.  The  whole — 
house,  terrace  and  orchard  make  a  wonder- 
ful spot  for  a  country  home,  commanding  a 
view  over  rolling  wooded  country  where 
one  can  never  weary  of  watching  the  many 
phases  of  cloud  and  sunshine,  the  sheeted 
rain  blowing  down  the  valley  in  spring  and 
fall,  the  snow  flurry  drifting  across  the  sunlit 
landscape  in  winter,  the  somberness  of  russet 
autumn,  the  gaiety  of  delicate  green  April 
and  the  transformation  wrought  by  the  full 
October  moon  or  the  misty  starlight  of  mid- 
summer. 


161 


THE   WILD   GARDEN 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   WILD    GARDEN 

years  I  have  been  writing  of  a  type 
of  garden  familiar  to  me  through  long 
experience.  Now,  however,  I  am  about  to 
describe  briefly  another  form  of  plant  culture 
and  gardening  of  which  I  have  had  little  per- 
sonal experience,  but  the  possibilities  of  which 
I  have  observed  for  many  years,  during  which 
I  have  watched  the  beginning,  progress  and 
development  of  a  great  natural  or  wild  garden. 
The  term  "wild  garden"  may  be  as  descrip- 
tive of  the  garden  made  from  native  material 
without  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  as  expres- 
sive of  native  resources,  as  the  terms  English 
garden  or  Italian  garden,  where  the  yews  of 
England  and  cypress  of  Italy  give  at  once  the 
dominant  note  peculiar  to  the  country  where 
each  is  situated. 

165 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

Within  the  boundaries  of  every  country 
place  of  any  extent  there  will  always  be  found 
the  border  of  a  woodland,  a  bit  of  marshy 
ground  through  which  winds  a  tiny  stream 
or  a  ridge  of  rocks,  which  await  only  the 
proper  treatment  of  the  possibilities  they 
offer  to  become  most  exquisite  corners  upon 
the  place. 

This  wild  gardening  presents  infinite  possi- 
bilities. It  deals  with  all  the  native  blooming 
plants  indigenous  to  the  locality,  or  that  will 
grow  there  naturally  under  its  conditions  of 
soil  and  climate  without  cultivation,  from 
the  tiniest  flowers  of  meadow,  glade  and  rock- 
ledge,  the  innumerable  growths  of  the  bog, 
the  ferns  from  the  woods  and  borders  of 
streams,  to  the  towering  weeds  of  late  sum- 
mer, and  the  many  native  shrubs. 

The  run-down  and  neglected  farms  that  are 
scattered  throughout  our  eastern  states 
afford  the  opportunity  for  the  practical 
development  of  this  wild  gardening  be- 
cause of  their  natural  conditions  and  the 

166 


THE   WILD   GARDEN 

infinite  variety  of  plant  life  growing  there 
naturally.  Upon  a  few  acres  of  land  may  often 
be  found  all  the  charm  of  uplands,  of  open 
fields  sloping  swiftly  to  the  wooded  valley,  of 
meadows  through  which  a  stream  or  creek 
makes  its  way,  and  of  rocky  ledges  and  great 
boulders. 

The  land  that  once  was  cultivated  is  now 
overrun  with  many  beautiful  varieties  of 
trees  and  shrubbery  growing  naturally.  Here, 
perhaps,  a  group  of  long-neglected  apple  trees; 
there,  upon  a  hillside,  many  of  the  native 
shrubs,  bayberry,  huckleberry,  alder,  sumach, 
pigeonwood,  dogwood,  shad  bush,  and  beau- 
tiful cedars,  many  of  them  tall  and  symme- 
trical and  of  wonderful  color,  while  younger 
seedlings  are  struggling  to  show  themselves 
above  the  shrubs  and  tall  weeds. 

In  the  humble  huckleberry  bush  there  is 
constantly  varying  color,  especially  effective 
when  it  occurs  in  masses.  The  opening  leaves 
in  spring  are  a  lovely  pale  yellow-green, 
in  June  the  bushes  are  covered  with  tiny 

167 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

white  flowers,  in  midsummer  with  blue 
berries,  while  in  autumn  the  foliage  turns  a 
deep  red  with  tints  of  bronze,  and  all  through 
the  winter  the  branches  of  the  bushes  are 
tipped  with  varying  shades  of  red. 

In  woodlands,  particularly  where  the  big 
timber  has  been  cut,  will  be  found  wonderful 
growths  of  laurel.  From  the  foot  of  some 
great  ledge  of  rock  a  little  spring  flows  forth, 
sending  its  tiny  trickle  down  to  the  bog  or 
brook.  Some  of  these  bogs  are  composed  of 
floating  tussocks  where  grows  the  swamp 
maple,  the  earliest  tree  to  attire  itself  in 
autumn  coloring.  Upon  the  low  meadows  are 
found  in  luxuriance  the  flowers  of  late  sum- 
mer and  autumn, — the  Joe  Pye  weed  and 
other  eupatoriums,  starwort  and  goldenrod. 
Along  the  ledges  of  rock,  where  there  is  shade, 
grow  luxuriantly  ma'ny  mosses  and  the  winter 
evergreen  fern;  there,  too,  can  be  found  the 
more  beautiful  lycopodium  with  its  curious 
tufted  stems,  and  in  sunny  places  in  the 
narrow  crevices  of  the  rocks  the  tiniest 

168 


THE   WILD   GARDEN ' 

spring  flowers  make  a  home,  among  which 
is  the  fairy-like  wind-flower. 

Upon  a  shaded  bank  in  the  woods,  where  the 
soil  is  of  leaf-mold  and  the  rock-ledge  gives 
protection,  will  be  found  the  Solomon's  seal, 
and  such  a  spot  is  also  the  habitat  of  the 
lovely  trillium,  which,  in  several  varieties — 
white,  red  and  purple — dots  the  ground. 

In  more  open  and  sunny  woods  there  will 
bloom,  in  earliest  spring,  varieties  of  anem- 
one, yellow  dog-tooth  violets,  single  blue 
violets,  snakeroot,  Jack-in-the-pulpit,  hepat- 
ica,  and  the  bloodroot. 

Along  old  walls  and  fences  are  tangles  of 
beautiful  wild  growth,  including  clematis,  wild 
grape  and  Virginia  creeper.  The  open  fields 
and  meadows  are  abloom  with  wild  carrot, 
daisies,  buttercups  and  wild  violets.  In  a 
swampy  spot  where  ice  lies  all  the  winter  and 
water  stands  in  early  spring,  the  marigold 
makes  a  brilliant  flame  of  yellow. 

The  old  mill-pond,  where,  perhaps,  only 
the  dam  and  water-run,  with  the  ruin  of  the 

169 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

mill,  remain,  gives  a  wonderful  opportunity 
for  a  water-garden,  where  the  native  pond- 
lilies,  the  giant  arrowhead,  the  water  hya- 
cinth and  the  pickerel  weed  may  be  planted. 
Many  reeds  and  iris  may  fringe  its  edges, 
and  swamp  willows,  maples  and  white  birches 
may  extend  protecting  arms  over  the  quiet, 
secluded  water. 

At  the  head  of  such  a  pond,  the  shy,  bril- 
liant cardinal  flower  will  be  found  in  its  home, 
and  lovely  ferns  will  grow  in  the  cool  mois- 
ture along  the  banks. 

It  would  be  impossible,  in  this  short 
chapter,  to  enumerate  a  tithe  of  all  the 
native  growth  available  for  such  a  wild  gar- 
den, and  those  mentioned  are  chosen  at  ran- 
dom. A  recent  bulletin  of  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut, describing  "the  flowering  plants  and 
ferns  of  Connecticut,  growing  without  culti- 
vation," enumerates  more  than  eight  hundred 
species,  which  will  afford  some  idea  of  the 
infinite  variety  of  native  plants  available  for 
such  a  garden. 

170 


THE   WILD   GARDEN* 

Of  the  flowers  called  wild,  some  are  "gar- 
den escapes,"  the  seeds  of  which  have  come 
from  cultivated  gardens  where  they  flourished 
generations  ago ;  others  are  "adventive," 
natives  of  foreign  lands,  among  which  are 
many  of  our  common  weeds  which  have 
spread  in  the  same  manner. 

All  of  the  wild  plants  can  be  made  to  grow 
without  cultivation  if  they  are  given  the  sur- 
roundings they  require.  A  plant  which  in  its 
natural  condition  demands  shade  and  mois- 
ture would  not  thrive  on  a  sunny  upland, 
nor  will  those  flowers  which  need  sun  and  a 
location  not  too  damp  flourish  on  the  bor- 
ders of  a  shaded  stream. 

The  banks  of  a  stream  overgrown  and 
cluttered  with  leaves  and  dead  branches  may 
be  cleared  away  and  planted  with  moisture- 
loving  things — marigolds,  wild  violets,  cardi- 
nal flower,  turtle-head  and  the  wild  rose.  If, 
here  and  there,  rocks  crop  out,  moss,  taken 
up  in  great  masses,  may  be  brought  to  grow 
upon  them. 

171 


THE   PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

At  some  convenient  season,  every  one  of 
these  plants  may  be  taken  up  with  care,  and, 
if  properly  planted  in  the  situation  each 
demands,  they  will  go  on  growing  serenely. 
These  native  plants  may  even  be  lifted, 
transported  from  almost  any  distance  not  too 
great,  and  so  replanted  that,  the  following 
day,  there  will  be  no  suspicion  that  they 
have  not  always  lived  there  on  the  banks  of 
the  little  stream,  or  wherever  they  may  have 
been  set. 

A  peaty  bog  will  usually  be  filled  with 
wild  roses,  azaleas  and  sweet  pepper.  Some- 
times these  bushes  cling  to  the  rocks  in  a  net- 
work of  fibrous  roots,  making  a  foot-hold  in 
the  leaf-mold  which  gives  them  life.  They 
may  be  stripped  from  the  rocks  intact  and 
taken  away  to  plant  elsewhere.  In  dry  times, 
when  the  swamps  are  accessible,  the  bushes 
that  grow  in  the  rich,  wet  soil  can  be  taken 
up  with  a  solid  ball  of  earth  around  the  roots 
and  replanted  with  certainty  of  living. 

Lilium  Canadense  and  L.  Philadelphicum 
172 


THE   WILD   GARDEN  > 

may  be  staked  when  blooming,  and  taken  up 
in  the  autumn,  to  plant  where  wanted. 

Trees  growing  in  wet  places,  which  are 
accessible  only  in  dry  times,  may  easily  be 
transplanted.  A  circle  some  three  feet  from 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  should  first  be  dug 
around  it,  then  from  the  circle  a  ditch  should 
be  opened,  to  lead  away  the  water,  and  the 
whole  left  for  a  year  to  dry  out.  When  the 
tree  becomes  accustomed  to  the  drier  soil,  it 
may  be  transplanted  wherever  desired. 

I  have  seen  tulip  trees  twenty  feet  high, 
thus  treated,  transplanted  successfully  from 
swamp  to  open  ridge.  For  use  in  trans- 
planting, a  stout  carrier  may  be  made  of 
hickory  poles  with  cross  slats  nailed  closely 
together,  light  but  strong,  which  can  be  taken 
into  fields  inaccessible  to  wagon,  and  will 
serve  to  carry  out  the  plants  and  shrubs. 

The  farmer's  "stone  boat"  performs  the 
same  service  for  larger  things,  such  as  small 
trees,  bayberries,  billberries,  great  bushes  of 
laurel,  etc. 

173 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

If  a  field  quite  "run  out,"  as  the  farmer 
expresses  it,  is  to  be  tilled,  some  of  the  sod, 
which  is  often  full  of  lovely  wild  flowers,  may 
be  taken  up  and  brought  to  the  wild  garden. 
Thus  transplanted,  the  blossom  will  not  even 
droop  for  a  day. 

If  fences  are  to  be  straightened  and  re- 
built, the  beautiful  bushes  and  vines  which 
have  adorned  their  dilapidation  may  also  be 
transplanted  into  the  wild  garden. 

The  bogs,  wet  meadows  and  swamps, 
whether  your  own  or  your  neighbor's,  are 
your  nurseries,  and  permission  for  such  trans- 
planting will  seldom  be  refused.  But  such 
constant  reclamation  is  now  being  carried 
on  all  over  the  country  that,  if  you  see  any 
plant  or  shrub  you  want  growing  in  swamp 
or  bog,  you  should  lose  no  time  in  securing  it 
for  your  natural  garden;  for  bog  and  swamp 
may  soon  be  drained  and  reclaimed  and  used 
for  onion  meadow  or  corn  field,  when  its  day 
as  a  nursery  for  wild  flowers  will  be  gone. 

In  the  practice  of  wild  gardening,  the  win- 
174 


THE    WILD    GARDEN^ 

ter  becomes  no  less  interesting  than  the 
summer. 

Winter  is  the  best  time,  not  only  to  get  at, 
but  to  transplant,  many  shrubs.  They  may 
be  dug  about  during  a  thaw  when  the  ground 
is  soft,  and  allowed  to  stand  until  the  ball  of 
earth  about  the  roots  is  frozen  again,  when 
they  can  be  taken  up  and  planted  without 
even  knowing  it  themselves. 

In  late  fall,  when  people  are  returning  to 
town  from  their  country-places,  leaving  the 
tender  roses  and  other  plants  wrapped  in 
straw,  the  fountain  stilled  and  housed  for 
the  winter,  loneliness  and  desolation  hold 
sway  in  the  cultivated  garden,  but  the  nat- 
ural garden  is  still  full  of  lovely  things.  Ever- 
green fern,  ground  pine  and  wintergreen,  with 
scarlet  berries,  carpet  the  ground;  the  bay- 
berry  bush  with  its  dull  silver  berries,  the 
red-stemmed  dogwood,  the  dark  sumach, 
the  red  hips  of  the  wild  rose,  the  orange 
berries  of  the  bittersweet,  the  glossy-leaved 
laurel  and  the  waving  plumes  of  goldenrod 

175 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

and  asters  remain  beautiful  throughout  the 
winter.  The  bare  branches  of  the  trees  are 
outlined  against  the  sky  in  all  their  exquisite 
structure,  the  smooth  fields  are  golden  gray 
in  the  sunshine,  and  in  woodland  and  thicket, 
nestling  under  the  leaves,  hepaticas  await  the 
April  sun  to  unfold  their  delicate  blossoms. 

Walking  through  the  woods  when  clad  in 
the  white  shroud  of  midwinter,  one  feels  the 
charm  of  the  mysterious  stillness  broken  only 
by  the  sound  of  a  dead  branch  falling  from  a 
tree,  or  by  the  gurgling  of  the  brook  flowing 
so  swiftly  that  ice  forms  only  upon  its  edges. 
There  is,  too,  the  added  interest  from  the 
presence  of  the  many  wild  creatures  that  in- 
habit the  woods,  whose  frequent  tracks  in  the 
snow  are  visible  to  us,  each  telling  its  own 
tale  of  woodland  life. 

There  is  beauty  in  the  bare  fields;  the  weeds 
and  shrubs  are  lovely  clad  in  their  winter 
tints  of  brown,  red,  mauve  and  gray,  intensi- 
fied by  the  changing  tints  of  the  snow.  The 
water  of  the  streams  assumes  the  somber 

176 


THE   WILD   GARDEN 

tones  we  so  often  see  in  paintings,  which 
give  a  singular  charm  known  only  to  those 
who  seek  the  country  in  winter. 

The  winter  is  the  best  time  for  planting, 
and  transplanting  also,  for  the  reason  that, 
then,  every  detail  of  the  landscape  is  open  to 
view  and  more  clearly  defined.  A  tree  which 
in  the  summer  you  might  decide  to  remove  or 
cut  down  will  often  be  allowed  to  remain  if 
you  wait  until  winter  to  see  its  trunk  and 
branches  against  the  sky,  and  their  effect  in 
the  winter  landscape. 

Do  not  think  this  wild  gardening  exists 
merely  in  imagination.  I  have  a  friend  who 
has  planned  and  developed  just  such  a  garden 
and  has  produced  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
pieces  of  natural  planting  that  can  be  found 
anywhere.  He  calls  it  the  "Connecticut  Gar- 
den." This  name  was  chosen,  half  in  jest,  half 
in  earnest,  to  prove  the  possibility  of  making  a 
garden  of  the  natural  plants  and  shrubbery 
which  grow  wild  in  Connecticut,  and  which, 
under  favorable  conditions,  may  be  grouped 

177 


THE   PRACTICAL  FLOWER   GARDEN 

in  effective  planting  and  there  grown  without 
cultivation.  The  object  of  the  garden  was  to 
grow  effectively,  in  their  natural  conditions, 
those  plants  which  would  live  without  culti- 
vation or  specially  prepared  soil.  It  is  a 
garden  where  no  seeds  are  sown,  no  fertilizer 
used,  and  where  the  ground  is  not  tilled.  Even 
wild  roses,  when  transplanted  from  one  part 
of  the  place  to  another,  such  as  the  Blanda 
and  others,  of  which  there  are  forty-three 
varieties  native  in  Connecticut,  receive  no 
fertilizer.  In  situations  where  they  are  much 
in  evidence,  the  ground  over  the  roots  is 
covered  with  sods  of  moss  brought  from  the 
woods.  In  this  wild  garden,  roses  have  thriven 
for  years,  though  receiving  no  care. 

Some  might  call  it  a  garden  of  weeds,  but 
if  the  Joe  Pye  is  a  weed,  so  also  are  the  wild 
violet,  the  trillium,  the  bloodroot  and  the 
hepatica.  Those  shrubs  and  flowers  which 
are  needed  to  produce  an  effect  in  mass  are 
planted  as  closely  together  as  possible,  the 
branches  even  touching,  while,  in  some  other 

178 


THE   WILD   GARDEN 

situations,  only  single  specimens  of  great  size 
are  used. 

In  this  Connecticut  garden,  the  rock-ledges 
and  boulders  are  treated  as  a  part  of  the 
garden  as  much  as  the  trees  or  flowers  them- 
selves, and  are  objects  of  beauty.  At  the  foot 
of  the  boulders  grow,  in  places,  prostrate 
junipers,  native  columbines  and  creeping 
phlox.  In  crevices  of  the  rock-ledge  are  many 
ferns,  columbines  and  velvety  mosses,  and 
along  the  tops  of  the  ledges  grow  bayberry 
and  huckleberry  bushes.  If  a  ledge  has  been 
obscured  by  a  tangle  of  briar,  underbrush 
and  fallen  limbs  of  trees,  and  the  crevices  of 
the  rock  are  full  of  leaves  and  debris,  all  are 
cleared  and  brushed  away,  leaving  only  the 
clinging  evergreen  fern  and  many  varieties  of 
moss.  In  some  niches,  leaf-mold  is  placed,  in 
which  tiny  flowers  of  exquisite  beauty  soon 
appear. 

These  ledges  of  rock  may  be  called  not  a 
rock  garden,  but  rather  a  garden  of  rocks. 
Different  conditions  of  the  atmosphere — mist, 

179 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

sunshine  and  gray  autumn — produce  wonder- 
ful effects  in  their  curious  seams  of  color,  and 
at  times  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  rocks 
or  the  plants  growing  around  and  about  them 
are  most  beautiful. 

Descending  the  swift  slope  of  fields  stretch- 
ing from  the  old  farmhouse,  and  crossing  a 
natural  ravine,  we  pass  a  small  pond  where 
wild  geese  have  found  conditions  so  favorable 
that  no  temptations  lead  them  away,  cross  a 
noisy  brook  that  tumbles  and  sings  on  its  way 
between  the  great  boulders  that  line  its  sides, 
and  finally  come  to  the  simple  gate  of  white 
palings  that  opens  between  two  graceful  elms 
into  the  Connecticut  garden. 

Here  we  find  a  little  open  green,  along  a 
stone  wall,  extending  on  one  side  of  which 
masses  of  laurel  grow  and  prosper  in  full 
sunshine.  Descending  a  green  aisle  where  in 
spring  the  sod  is  gay  with  tiniest  flowers 
of  white,  yellow,  lavender,  blue,  one  side  of 
which  is  bordered  with  a  tall  growth  of 
huckleberry  bushes  backed  by  hundreds  of 

180 


THE    WILD   GARDEN 

wild  flowering  shrubs,  and  the  other  by 
wild  roses,  bayberry  and  wild  azalea,  we 
come  to  a  ledge  of  rock  where  stands 
a  giant  laurel.  This  ledge,  with  its  steep 
out-cropping,  and  masses  of  boulder  and 
shelf  of  rock,  is  bright  with  color  from 
early  spring.  Here,  in  May,  white  creeping 
phlox  breaks  in  a  foam  against  the  rock,  and 
Columbine,  dwarf  rose  and  low-flowering 
shrubs  of  every  kind  grow  in  profusion. 
Down  another  aisle,  we  come  to  a  great  tulip 
tree,  the  most  wonderful  specimen  of  its  kind 
I  have  ever  seen. 

Crossing  a  stream  and  following  a  narrow 
lane,  where  a  little  orchard  of  wild  apple  trees 
grows  on  one  side  and  a  thicket  of  dogwood 
and  alder  on  the  other,  we  come  to  the 
meadows  composed  of  many  acres  of  wild- 
growing  native  flowers. 

Across  these  meadows,  wide  paths  are  kept 
open  by  the  mowing-machine,  which  serve  to 
make  possible  closer  view  and  enjoyment  of 
the  many  flowers  which  grow  here.  These 

181 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

meadows  have  been  drained  by  a  wide,  shal- 
low ditch,  as  well  as  by  a  stream  which  flows 
gently  through  them.  Upon  the  rising  edges 
of  the  meadow  along  the  woodland  are  masses 
of  tall  asters,  heleniums  and  elderberry;  and 
in  the  meadow  bloom  marigold,  many  iris, 
patches  of  the  rare  fringed  blue  gentian,  tur- 
tle head,  pink,  white  and  crimson  mallow, 
iron  weed,  vervain,  thorough  wort,  and  all  the 
lovely  growths  natural  to  damp  places,  with 
their  successively  changing  colors,  of  white, 
red,  yellow,  orange  and  russet.  As  month 
follows  month,  each  species  of  plant  rises 
higher  and  higher,  each  successive  growth  hid- 
ing the  earlier  one,  until  at  last,  in  autumn, 
the  great  plumes  of  goldenrod,  the  many- 
hued  starworts  and  the  towering  heleniums 
and  helianthus  reign  supreme. 

Looking  down  upon  the  meadows  are 
rounded  knolls  covered  with  sparse  grass, 
which  is  thickly  interspersed  with  flowers, 
such  as  St.  John's-wort,  everlasting,  mulleins, 
beautiful  thistles  and  black-eyed  susans. 

182 


THE   WILD   GARBED 

After  the  flowers  have  seeded  themselves, 
in  the  autumn,  the  knolls  are  closely  cut,  to 
bring  out  their  contours  and  give  emphasis 
to  the  flowery  meadows  below  them,  which 
latter  are  mown  by  hand  with  scythe  or 
sickle  only  when  the  earliest  signs  of  coming 
spring  appear,  raked  with  heavy  wooden 
rakes  and  the  dead  material  removed,  when, 
almost  immediately,  the  floral  procession  that 
lasts  until  late  autumn  begins  to  appear. 

On  other  uprises  of  land  above  the  meadows, 
wild  apple  trees  are  made  to  contribute  great 
effect.  Some  twisted  and  stunted  specimens, 
which  in  their  struggle  for  life  seldom  blos- 
som or  bear  fruit,  have  been  cut  away  at  the 
top  until  they  remind  us  of  some  curious  and 
ancient  Japanese  trees. 

The  ordinary  wild  apple  trees,  often  covered 
thickly  with  red  and  yellow  fruit  which  hangs 
upon  the  branches  until  winter,  give  charm- 
ing detail.  They  overhang  pathways,  and  are 
more  beautiful  than  anything  that  could  be 
planted  in  their  places.  These  apples,  too, 

183 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

are  of  value  as  food  for  the  wild  inhabitants 
of  the  garden.  On  a  winter's  day,  the  par- 
tridge comes  for  the  apple  seeds,  and  when 
startled  into  flight,  makes  a  dash  of  gray  into 
the  shelter  of  the  woods. 

The  wild  garden  is  also  a  home  for  the 
birds;  the  red-winged  blackbird  makes  his 
nest  among  the  bulrushes  and  cat-tails;  the 
chewink  is  busy  in  the  leaves  under  the 
shrubs;  the  thrush  finds  here  his  favorite 
haunts,  and  also  the  yellow  hammer,  the 
bluejay,  and  all  the  birds  of  wood  and 
thicket. 

After  the  leaves  have  fallen  in  autumn,  the 
nests  which  have  been  skilfully  hidden 
among  the  verdure  are  then  seen  for  the  first 
time,  and  we  become  aware  how  very  many 
of  the  shy  and  elusive  birds  have  made  this 
garden  their  home. 

Passing  along  the  wide  pathway,  through 
the  meadow  of  flowers  and  through  a  thicket 
of  willows,  we  come  to  the  "shadow  pond," 
quite  concealed  from  view  by  the  shrubbery 

184 


THE    WILD   GARDEN^ 

and  the  contour  of  the  ground  until  we  reach 
its  very  edge.  Here  we  find  a  water-garden 
dug  from  the  bog,  with  winding,  irregular 
banks  upon  which  grow  wild  roses,  tall  lilies, 
alder,  azaleas,  the  sweet  pepper,  and  in  the 
wet,  low  edges  flags  and  grasses,  and  all  the 
water-loving  plants,  while  pink,  white  and 
yellow  pond-lilies  float  upon  the  surface  of 
the  water.  On  one  side,  this  pond  is  bordered 
by  a  great  woodland  which  in  the  spring  is 
pink  with  wild  azalea;  across  the  pond,  one 
looks  into  a  little  glade  of  singular  charm  and 
seclusion,  framed  in  by  high  ledge  upon  ledge, 
where  great  cedars  grow  naturally,  and  where, 
in  the  foreground,  the  dominant  feature  is  an 
ancient  swamp  ash  of  wonderful  symmetry 
and  size. 

From  this  little  glade  we  come  to  a  green 
meadow  which  has  been  reclaimed  from  a 
thicket  and  bog,  through  which,  along  a 
plantation  of  hornbeam,  a  slender  stream 
flows  until  it  loses  itself  in  the  bog  which 
feeds  the  water-garden. 

185 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

Through  this  Connecticut  garden  many 
paths  lead,  which  are  often  carpeted  with 
sods  taken  from  some  lean  pasture  or  meadow, 
carrying  with  them  small  mosses  and  tiny 
flowers.  Along  one  path  a  little  orchard  has 
been  planted  of  the  wild  apple  trees  found  on 
the  farm,  set  in  line  with  the  path.  Other 
paths  lead  through  th'ckets  of  dogwood  and 
alders. 

By  another  path,  we  come  to  a  corner  of 
the  garden  given  over  to  lilies,  which  grow  in 
a  bed  by  themselves, — the  Hemerocallis  fulva, 
or  old  familiar  tawny  day  lily,  the  lemon  day 
lily,  the  blackberry  lily  (all  of  which  are 
garden  escapes) ;  then  there  are  also  L.  Phila- 
delphicum,  or  red  wood  lily,  L.  superbum,  or 
Turk's  cap  lily,  and  the  L.  Canadense,  or  wild 
yellow  lily,  all  of  which  together  make  a  veri- 
table garden  of  lilies. 

Walking  through  the  densest  woods  by 
old  wood  roads  and  narrow  footpaths  winding 
between  the  trees,  and  often  following  a 
stream,  we  see  the  frail  Indian  pipe  that 

186 


THE   WILD   GARDEN 

shrinks  from  the  sunlight;  pushing  away  dead 
leaves,  we  find  plantations  of  the  lovely  trail- 
ing arbutus,  which  is  fast  becoming  extinct 
as  a  wild  flower,  because  of  the  reckless  man- 
ner in  which  it  is  gathered,  whole  plants  being 
too  often  torn  up  by  the  roots.  In  these 
woods,  too,  lives  the  maidenhair  fern,  loved 
by  all  who  know  it;  and  in  brighter  spots, 
growing  about  the  foot  of  some  great  rock, 
is  the  bluebell,  Campanula  rotundifolia,  which 
grows  alike  in  sunshine  and  in  shadow,  in 
rich,  mouldy  soil  or  barren  sandy  hilltop. 

A  most  beautiful  path  takes  us  through  a 
gap  in  the  tallest  ledge  of  rocks,  down  a  hill- 
side where  many  cedars  grow  along  the  path, 
with  just  enough  of  intention  to  emphasize 
the  alignment.  Here,  in  blustering  weather, 
no  winds  can  penetrate,  and  in  summer  heats 
cool  quiet  dwells.  In  this  fragrant,  dense 
seclusion,  one  would  fain  sit  and  read  or 
dream  for  hours.  At  the  curve  of  this  path 
we  see  the  Gray  Glen,  with  the  tall  gray 
trunks  of  swamp  ash,  elm,  oak,  tulip  and 

187 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

whitewood  growing  in  the  Glen,  through 
which  a  stream  finds  its  way,  amidst  a 
maze  of  rock  and  boulder,  down  into  the 
main  river. 

At  all  times, — in  early  spring,  in  times  of 
freshet  when  the  streams  tumble  and  foam 
along  their  course,  in  the  drought  and  heat 
of  midsummer,  the  murmurs  of  the  brooks 
and  the  sound  of  falling  water  as  it  '  comes 
down  through  two  beautiful  little  glens  and 
falls  over  artfully  constructed  dams  quite 
hidden  from  view, — there  is  the  enchantment 
which  running  water  alone  can  give  to  land- 
scape or  garden.  And  among  the  greatest 
charms  of  this  Connecticut  garden  are  the 
river  that  flows  along  its  outer  boundaries, 
the  streams,  brooks  and  swamps  running 
through  it,  and  its  wonderful  water-supply, 
abundant  in  all  seasons. 

In  spring,  all  the  woods  are  carpeted  with 
dog-tooth  violets,  anemones,  and  blue  vio- 
lets, and  one  cannot  tread  without  crushing 
some  delicate  plant,  while  snakeroot,  sweet 

188 


THE   WILD   GARDEN 

fern,  oxalis,  hepaticas  and  the  many  other 
flowers  make  a  garden  of  the  woods. 

Beyond,  and  a  mile  and  more  from  the 
Connecticut  garden,  and  separated  from  it 
by  glades  and  sloping  fields,  upon  a  far  end 
of  the  estate,  there  is  a  wonderful  hemlock 
glen,  where  a  foaming  stream  tumbles  over 
its  rocky  bed,  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  a 
deep  ravine  worn  out  by  centuries  of  rushing 
waters.  This  glen  is  bordered  on  both  sides 
and  banks  by  ancient  hemlocks,  through 
whose  great  branches  the  sunshine  comes  but 
gently;  here  footsteps  make  no  sound  on  the 
needle-sown  ground,  gray  rocks,  bedded  in 
ferns,  and  carpeted  with  many  varieties  of 
moss,  invite  one  to  sit  upon  their  soft  cush- 
ions and  listen  to  the  changing  music  of  the 
stream  below,  while  wood  pigeons,  flying  from 
tree  to  tree,  utter  their  soft  notes,  and  deli- 
cious scents  of  sweet  fern  and  resinous  hem- 
lock fill  the  air.  The  stream,  in  places  dash- 
ing over  water-worn  boulders,  sends  its  white 
spray  high  in  air,  and  again  hurries  down 

189 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

many  rapids,  and  comes  to  rest  in  clear 
brown  pools  where  the  sunlight  sends  its 
golden  glints,  and  shy  trout  can  be  seen  if 
one  creeps  softly  to  the  water's  edge. 

With  just  a  bite  of  luncheon,  a  book,  per- 
haps a  dog  as  companion,  one  can  spend  a 
long,  delicious  day  in  this  wonderful  hemlock 
glen,  and,  in  late  afternoon,  in  the  level  light 
of  the  sunset  hour,  the  walk  across  the  quiet 
fields  to  the  low,  gray  farmhouse  is  not  the 
least  of  the  day's  delights. 

Standing  before  this  quaint  century-old 
house,  a  never-to-be-forgotten  landscape 
stretches  before  us.  To  the  eastward  we  look 
down  on  a  gently  sloping  field  of  broad  ex- 
panse, on  the  great  twin  elms  which  keep 
watch  at  the  gate  of  the  Connecticut  garden, 
and  see  in  the  distance  the  rock-ledges  and 
boulders,  the  flowery  meadow,  the  dark 
cedars,  and  the  general  contours  of  the 
natural  garden.  Towards  the  south,  we  look 
out  over  tracts  of  woodland,  much  of  it  first 
growth,  over  orchards  of  twisted  apple  trees 

190 


THE   WILD   GARDEN 


and  smooth,  green  fields  where  sheep  gather 
under  the  protecting  shade  of  great  oaks, 
across  a  wide  extent  of  country  to  the 
distant,  shimmering  sea,  many  miles  away, 
now  blue,  now  gray  where  the  sunlit  sails 
are  clearly  seen. 

This  Connecticut  garden  is  a  unique  ex- 
pression of  wild,  or  natural,  gardening,  which 
has  both  value  and  interest,  and  is  well 
worth  while.  It  is  of  importance,  also,  as  an 
example  of  a  development  of  possibilities 
that  may  be  within  the  reach  of  many  who, 
so  far,  have  not  availed  themselves  of  oppor- 
tunities lying  close  at  hand.  Here  are  gathered 
and  planted,  with  a  particular  regard  for 
appropriateness  of  situation  and  proximity, 
nearly  all  of  the  native  plants,  ferns  and 
shrubs  of  Connecticut,  and  the  locality 
itself  is  so  favored  that  most  of  the  wild 
flowers  whose  habitat  is  anywhere  in  the 
country  between  southern  Maine  and  New 
Jersey  are  to  be  found  there,  the  orchids  of 
the  more  northern  region  alone  being  wanting. 

191 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

The  maker  of  the  Connecticut  garden  has 
not  learned  his  art  from  books,  but  rather 
from  a  great  love  of  nature  and  a  close  and 
constant  observation  of  her  thousand  phases. 
And  he  has  created,  through  the  use  and 
development  of  native  material  only,  a 
garden  which  is  truly  wonderful. 


192 


The  brook  in  springtime 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS,  AND  BULBS 

WHICH   I   HAVE    GROWN 

SUCCESSFULLY 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS  AND  BULBS 

WHICH  I  HAVE   GROWN 

SUCCESSFULLY 

HARDY  SHRUBS 

AZALEA  MOLLIS.  2  to  3  feet.  Plant  only  in 
spring.  Never  prune.  Should  have  northern 
exposure.  Must  be 
heavily  mulched 
and  kept  moist  in 
summer.  Blooms 
in  May  and  early 
June*  The  most 
effective  low-grow- 
ing shrub.  \Vhen 
blooming,  it  is  one 
mass  of  delicate 
blossoms  of  many 
colors — pink,  pur- 
ple, crimson,  lav- 
ender, red,  orange, 
yellow  and  white. 


Azalea  mollis 


195 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

The  pink  variety  from  the  woods  is,  of 
course,  hardy.  The  Azalea  mollis,  though  very 
beautiful,  is,  however,  not  particularly  hardy. 

BERBERIS  THUNBERGII  (Japanese  Bar- 
berry). 6  feet.  Plant  in  early  spring.  Has 
scarlet  berries  in  the  fall  that  remain  through 
most  of  the  winter.  It  is  very  hardy  and 
healthy,  and  is  suitable  for  low  hedges. 

CALYCANTHUS  FLORIDUS  (Sweet  Shrub; 
Strawberry  Shrub).  6  to  12  feet.  Plant  in 
the  spring,  or  in  the  fall  not  later  than  Octo- 
ber 15th.  Blooms  in  early  June.  With  its 
fragrant,  little,  pineapple-shaped,  maroon- 
colored  flowers,  it  is  a  familiar  sight  in 
old-fashioned  gardens. 

CLETHRA  ALNIFOLIA  (White  Alder;  Sweet 
Pepper  Bush).  6  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  the 
spring.  Blooms  in  July  and  August.  The 
spikes  of  delicate,  feathery  white  flowers 
have  a  very  sweet  perfume. 

CORNUS  FLORIDA  and  C.  RUBRA  (White- 
and  Red-flowering  Dogwood).  8  to  15  feet. 
Transplant  from  woods,  or  plant  in  the  fall 

196 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

by  October  15th,  as  it  starts  very  early  in  the 
spring.  Blooms  in  May.  The  large,  flat,  irreg- 
ular flowers — either  white  or  a  purplish 
red — often  cover  the  tree  with  a  mass  of  color. 
CRAT^EGUS  (Hawthorn).  10  feet.  Plant  in 


Deutzia  crenata.    See  page  198 

197 


THE   PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 

the  early  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  in  May  and 
June.  It  has  very  fragrant,  delicate  little 
pink-and-white  blossoms,  both  double  and 
single,  which  are  followed  by  small  red  ber- 
ries. The  haw- 
thorn is  familiar 
to  all  readers  of 
English  litera- 
ture. In  fact,  it 
is  perhaps  the 
best-known 
English  shrub. 

CYTISUS  LA- 
BURNUM (Golden 
Rain).  8  to  12 
feet.  Plant  in  the 
autumn  before 

Deutzia  crenata  October         15th. 

Blooms  in  early  summer.  This  dwarf  tree,  or 
large  shrub,  has  long,  drooping  racemes  of 
bright  yellow  flowers. 

DEUTZIA  CANDIDISSIMA   and   D.  CRENATA). 
8  to  10  feet.    Plant  in  spring  or  fall.    Blooms 

198 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 


the  end  of  June  and  July.  A  very  beautiful 
and  profusely  blooming  shrub.  The  small 
blossoms  are  either  single  or  double,  and  come 
in  white,  pink  and  white  tinged  with  pink. 

FORSYTH IA 
FORTUNEI    and 

F.     SUSPENSA 

(Golden  Bell). 

6     to     10     feet. 

Plant  in  the  fall. 

Blooms  in  April 

and  early  May. 

The  first   shrub 

to  bloom  in  the 

spring.    Its  tall, 

straight    (or,   in 

the    Suspensa, 

drooping) 

branches,   covered   with   bright  yellow  bells, 

are  a  delight  to  the  eye. 

HIBISCUS  SYRIACUS,  ALBA  PLENA,  GRAND- 

IFLORA,     SUPERBA,     JEANNE     D?ARC.      (Althea; 

Rose  of  Sharon.)    6  to  8  feet.    Plant  early  in 

199 


Hibiscus 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

the  spring.  Blooms  in  July  and  August,  when 
few  other  shrubs  are  in  blossom.  A  beauti- 
ful shrub,  growing  very  tall  and  straight, 
and  particularly  good  for  high  hedges.  The 
leaves  are  handsome,  and  the  single  and 


Japanese  Maple.     See  page  201 

double  cup-shaped  flowers  are  purple,  ma- 
genta, pink  and  white.  The  white  and  pale 
pink  are  lovely. 

HYDRANGEA  PANICULATA  GRANDIFLORA.  6 
feet.  Plant  in  the  spring.  Blooms  the  end  of 
July  and  August.  Perhaps  the  best-known 
of  all  summer  shrubs.  The  blossoms,  in  dense, 

200 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

pyramidal  panicles,  often  a  foot  long,  are  at 
the  end  of  every  branch.  At  first  white,  and 
later  changing  to  a  russet-pink,  they  last  for 
weeks.  A  particularly  satisfactory  shrub,  for 
it  blooms  at  a  time  when  there  is  no  other 
blossoming  shrub. 

JAPANESE  MAPLE.  2  to  6  feet.  Plant  in 
the  spring.  These  shrubs  have  no  blossoms, 
but  the  brilliant  tones — either  red,  yellow  or 
purple — of  the  delicate  foliage  lend  a  most 
attractive  note  of  color  to  shrubberies. 

LIGUSTRUM  OVALIFOLIUM  (California 
Privet).  2  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring. 
More  frequently  used  for  hedges  than  any 
other  plant ;  also  very  good  as  a  screen.  When 
planted  in  hedges  it  should  be  set  out  8  to  12 
inches  apart.  Must  be  pruned  twice  a  year, — 
in  June  and  August, — otherwise  the  plants 
will  be  "  leggy,"  and  the  hedge  not  thick 
and  fine. 

LIGUSTRUM  VULGARE  (Common  Privet). 
2  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring.  Much  more 
hardy  than  the  California  privet  and  equally 

201 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

good  for  hedges  and  screens.    Should  be  set 
out  and  pruned  in  the  same  way. 


Magnolia  conspicua.     See  page  203 
202 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 


MAGNOLIA  CONSPICUA,  M.  SOULANGEANA 
and  M.  STELLA.  4  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  early 
spring.  Never  prune.  Blooms  in  April  or 
May,  according  to 
the  variety.  A  tree- 
like shrub,  with 
large,  smooth,  shiny 
leaves  and  cup-like 
flowers  that  are 
wrhite,  pink  and  a 
p  u  r  p  1  i  sh  pink. 
They  are  a  great 
source  of  pleasure, 
for  they  bloom  at 
a  time  when  there 

is   little  else.      Some  Magnolia  Soulangeana 

old  specimens  are  very  large,  and,  of  course, 
in  warm  climates  they  attain  the  size  of  trees. 
PHILADELPHIA  GRANDIFLORUS  (Mock  Or- 
ange). 6  to  10  feet.  Plant  in  early  spring  or 
fall.  Blooms  in  early  June.  A  very  popular 
and  hardy  shrub,  covered,  in  blooming  time, 
with  masses  of  white  flowers,  shaped  like  the 

203 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 

wild  rose,  and  of  a  powerful  and  spicy  fra- 
grance. Very  good  as  a  screen. 

PRUNUS  PISSARDI  (Purple-leaved  Plum). 
8  to  10  feet.  Plant  in  spring  or  fall.  A  most 
effective  shrub,  with  reddish  purple  leaves 
and  stems  that  deepen  in  color  as  the  season 
advances. 

PRUNUS  JAPONICA  ALBA  and  RUBRA  (Flow- 
ering Almond).  Plant  in  early  spring  or  fall. 
Blooms  in  May  and  June.  A  very  effective 
shrub.  The  beautiful  flowers  are  single  and 
double,  white  and  red. 


Magnolia  stella.    See  page  203 

204 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND    BULBS 

PYRUS  JAPONICA  (Japanese  Quince;  Burn- 
ing Bush).  Plant  in  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  in 
May.  A  very  handsome  shrub  when  it  is  in 
full  bloom,  for  it  is  then  one  mass  of  brilliant 
red  flowers. 

ROSA  RUGOSA  (Ramanas  Rose).  2  to  6 
feet.  Plant  in  early  spring  or  fall.  Blooms 
almost  all  summer.  A  very  healthy  shrub  of 
the  rose  family.  The  large  blossoms  are  sin- 
gle and  double,  and  pink,  white  and  crimson. 
Later  in  the  year  they  are  followed  by  red 
seed-pods.  It  is  often  used  for  hedges. 

RHUS  COTINUS  (Purple  Fringe,  or  Smoke 
Tree).  8  to  15  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring. 
Blooms  in  July.  A  tree-like  shrub.  When  it 
is  in  bloom,  the  great  featheriness  and  pecu- 
liar pinkish  gray  of  the  blossoms  make  the 
bush  look  as  if  it  were  enveloped  in  a  cloud 
of  smoke  or  morning  mist. 

SPIRAEA  ANTHONY  WATERER,  PRUNIFOLIA, 
BRIDAL  WREATH,  THUNBERGII  and  VAN 
HOUTTEI.  4  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  early  spring 
or  fall.  Blooms  the  end  of  May  and  early  in 

205 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER   GARDEN 

June.  A  very  beautiful  shrub.  In  blooming 
time  it  is  one  mass  of  flowers  that  are  white, 
pink,  and,  in  some  varieties,  crimson.  The 
Spircea  Van  Houttei  is  perhaps  the  most 
attractive  member  of  the  family. 

SYMPHORICARPOS  RACEMOSUS  (Snowberry). 
4  to  6  feet.  Plant  in  early  spring.  Blooms  in 
August.  The  little  pink  flowers  and  the  white 
wax-like  berries  grow  side  by  side  upon  the 
branch.  The  berries  remain  until  quite  into 
the  winter. 

STRING  A  JOSIK^A,  MADAME  LEMOINE, 
MADAME  CASIMIR-PERIER,  PERSICA  ALBA  and 
MARIE  LEGRAYE  (Lilac).  3  to  10  feet. 
Plant  in  spring  or  fall — before  October  15th. 
Blooms  in  May  and  June.  The  long,  fra- 
grant panicles  of  bloom  are  white,  pink  and 
purple,  single  and  double,  and  are  familiar  to 
all.  No  shrub  is  more  satisfactory,  both  in 
blooming  time  and  at  other  seasons,  for  the 
branches  are  heavily  covered  with  handsome, 
healthy,  smooth  green  leaves.  They  are, 
however,  in  some  localities,  subject  to  mil- 

206 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

dew.    In  these  modern  days  of  flower-culture, 
the   lilacs   have   been  so   perfected    and    the 


! 


Syringa,  Marie  Legray< 
207 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 


varieties  of  Japanese,  Persian,  and  French 
syringas  are  so  numerous  and  varied  that  the 
catalogue  of  one  firm  alone  has  over  fifty 

varieties.  An  at- 
tractive spring 
garden  could  be 
made  with  this 
shrub  only,  in  all 
its  many  colors, 
shapes  and  fami- 
lies. As  there 
are  both  early- 
and  late-bloom- 
ing varieties, 
this  spring  gar- 
den would  be  a 
beautiful  chang- 
ing color  picture  for  fully  five  weeks. 

VIBURNUM  PLICATUM  (Japanese  Snowball). 
0  to  10  feet.  Plant  in  early  spring  or  fall. 
Blooms  the  end  of  May  and  June.  The  foli- 
age is  healthy  and  dark,  and  the  flowers  grow 
in  large  balls.  The  sharp  contrast  between 

208 


Lilac 


•t 
SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND    BULBS 

white  flowers  and  very  dark  leaves,  and  the 
unusual  manner  in  which  the  blossoms  grow, 
make  this  a  very  effective  and  decorative 
shrub. 

WEIGELA  CANDIDA,  EVA  RATHKE  and 
ROSEA.  6  to  10  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring. 
Blooms  in  June  and  July.  A  favorite  shrub 
with  good  foliage  and  many  trumpet-shaped 
flowers  which  are  white  and  various  shades 
of  pink. 

EVERGREEN  SHRUBS 

STANDARD    SHRUBS 

Buxus  (Dwarf,  Bush,  Globe-shaped,  Pyram- 
idal and  Standard  Box).  6  inches  to  6  feet. 
Plant  in  spring.  A  favorite  evergreen  shrub 
with  small,  smooth,  glossy  leaves,  but,  in 
localities  where  the  winters  are  severe,  it  is 
not  hardy,  and  all  box,  except  the  dwarf  vari- 
eties, must  be  kept  in  a  cellar,  or  green- 
house, in  winter.  The  dwarf  variety  will 
survive  the  severe  climate  only  if  heavily 
covered  with  straw,  leaves,  and  even  boards, 

209 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER    GARDEN 

which  must  not  be  removed  too  early  in  the 
spring,  for  the  thawing  and  freezing  of  the 
first  warm  days  will  burn  and  hurt  box  even 
more  than  the  cold  of  winter. 

The  dwarf  box  for  edging  flower-beds 
should  be  planted  three  inches  apart  and 
trimmed  in  June  and  August.  The  larger  box 
plants,  such  as  the  pyramidal  and  standard 
varieties,  are  better  grown  in  tubs,  for  they 
can  be  thus  more  easily  moved,  as  it  is  not 
well  for  them  to  be  too  often  transplanted. 

LAURUS  NOBILIS  (Pyramidal,  Tree-shaped 
or  Standard  Bay  Trees).  Not  hardy.  Must 
be  kept  indoors  in  winter;  but  in  either  green 
or  white  wooden  tubs,  or  in  white  or  red 
terra-cotta  pots,  the  bay  tree  is  invaluable  as 
a  garden  or  terrace  decoration. 

HARDY    EVERGREEN    SHRUBS 

KALMIA  LATIFOLIA  (Mountain  Laurel).  2 
to  10  feet.  Plant  or  transplant  from  the  woods 
early  in  the  spring  or  in  the  fall.  Never 
prune.  Does  better  in  partial  shade.  Should 

210 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

be  well  mulched  and  kept  watered  in,  summer. 
Blooms  early  in  June.     This   is   a   beautiful 


Kalmia  latifolia 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER   GARDEN 

shrub,  with  unusual  cup-shaped  blossoms  that 
grow  at  the  ends  of  the  branches,  and  are 
either  white  or  a  delicate  pink.  The  leaves 
are  smooth,  narrow  and  glossy.  There  is  no 
more  beautiful  sight  than  the  woods  when 
the  laurel  is  in  blossom,  with  flowers  in  masses 
among  the  dark  tree-trunks.  Tradition  has 
it  that  the  foliage  is  poisonous  to  sheep, 
hence  the  country  name,"  sheep  laurel." 

MAHONIA  (Ashberry).  Plant  in  the  spring 
or  fall.  Blooms  in  May.  A  hardy  shrub  with 
leaves  like  the  English  holly  and  turning 
crimson  in  the  winter;  pretty  yellow  flowers. 

RHODODENDRON  MAXIMUM.  2  to  8  feet. 
Plant,  or  transplant  from  woods,  in  spring, 
or,  in  fact,  almost  any  time  before  August. 
Never  prune.  Blooms  in  June  and  July 
according  to  the  variety.  Should  be  kept  in 
partial  shade.  Must  be  heavily  mulched  and 
in  summer  should  be  always  moist.  The 
Rhododendron  maximum,  indigenous  to  our 
woods,  has  a  pink  flower  that  grows  in  clus- 
ters on  the  ends  of  the  branches.  It  is  one 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

of  those  plants  where  the  bud  forms  one  year 
and  the  blossoms  the  next.  Other  varieties 
are  purple,  pink,  mauve  and  white,  but, 
unlike  the  Maximum,  they  will  not  thrive  in 
very  cold  localities. 


Rhododendron  maximum 
EVERGREENS 

Evergreens  can  be  set  out  at  almost  any 
time,  from  early  spring  until  September, 
provided  the  roots  are  never  allowed  to  dry 
until  the  shrub  is  well  started.  It  is  wiser, 
however,  to  plant  or  transplant  from  the 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

woods  in  early  spring  before  the  young 
shoots  have  started,  or  in  August  after  the 
shrub  has  finished  growing.  All  evergreens 
are  improved  by  shearing,  which  makes  the 
foliage  more  dense  and  handsome.  When 
grown  in  hedges  they  cannot  have  too 
much  shearing;  it  makes  the  hedge  thick  and 
prevents  it  from  being  '"leggy";  nothing 
can  be  more  unattractive  than  a  hedge 
where  the  branches  begin  a  foot  above  the 
ground. 

ABIES  (Spruce,  or  Fir).    3  feet  upward. 

A.  ALBA  (White  Spruce).  Of  thick  pyram- 
idal growth  with  silvery  foliage;  very  hardy. 

A.  BALSAMEA  (Balsam  Fir).  Our  familiar 
Christmas  tree;  very  hardy. 

A.  CANADENSLS  (Hemlock  Spruce).  A  hardy 
native  tree,  splendid  for  hedges,  but  it  is 
naturally  of  open  growth  and  must  be 
heavily  sheared. 

A.  EXCELSA  (Norway  Spruce).  A  beauti- 
ful hardy  tree,  perfect  in  shape,  with  dense, 
dark  green  foliage. 


•t 
SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

A.  EXCELSA  AUREA.  A  golden-leaved  vari- 
ety of  Norway  Spruce. 

A.  NORDMANNIANA.  The  foliage  is  a  silver- 
gray  above,  and  a  duller,  darker  color  below. 
A  fine,  hardy  tree. 

A.  PUNGENS  GLAUCA  (Colorado  Blue 
Spruce).  One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
evergreens.  It  has  foliage  of  a  decided  blue 
tone,  grows  very  densely  and  in  good  form, 
and  is  entirely  hardy. 

A.  PUNGENS  GLAUCA  KosTERi.  A  more 
perfected  type  of  the  Colorado  Blue  Spruce. 

JUNIPERUS  (Juniper).    3  feet  upwards. 

J.  COMMUNIS  HIBERNICA  (Irish  Juniper). 
A  beautiful  tree  growing  tall  and  slim  and 
straight,  like  a  Lombardy  poplar.  It  is,  how- 
ever, rather  delicate  and  will  not  live  much 
further  north  than  central  New  Jersey. 

J.  VIRGINIANA  (Red  Cedar).  Indigenous 
to  our  woods  and  very  hardy.  Grows  tall 
and  straight  and  very  compact;  is  a 
most  ornamental  tree  and  can  be  used  to 

215 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER   GARDEN 

lend  height  and  character  to  the  garden,  in 
the  same  way  the  Italian  and  Spanish  gar- 
deners use  their  cypress  trees. 

PINUS  (Pine).    3  feet  upward. 

P.  STROBUS  (White  Pine).  One  of  our 
native  pines  and  very  hardy.  It  has  light 
green  foliage  and  will  live  in  a  poor  soil. 

P.  SYLVESTRIS  (Scotch  Pine).  Another 
very  hardy,  healthy,  straight-growing  pine 
that  will  be  found  most  satisfactory. 

RETINISPORA  (Japan  Cypress).  2  feet  up- 
ward. 

R.  FILIFERA  (Thread-branched).  A  hardy, 
drooping  variety  with  large,  pointed  leaves. 
Very  good  to  plant  with  straight-growing 
evergreens,  as  the  sharp  contrast  is  attrac- 
tive. 

R.  PLUMOSA.  A  mass  of  dark  green,  feathery 
branches;  much  improved  by  shearing.  Only 
fairly  hardy. 

R.  PLUMOSA  AUREA.  A  variety  in  which  the 
young  shoots  and  terminal  branches  are 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND    BULBS 

quite  yellow.  Not  hardy  north  of  New  Jer- 
sey, but  most  effective  among  the  darker 
evergreens.  Needs  much  shearing  to  make 
it  thick  and  bushy. 

R.  SQUARROSA  VEiTCHii.  A  low-growing, 
bushy  variety  with  feathery,  silvery,  blue- 
green  foliage.  Hardy  only  south  of  New  York 
except  in  very  protected  situations.  In  other 
places  it  must  be  covered  in  winter.  It 
requires  much  shearing. 

SCIADOPITYS  (Umbrella  Pine).  3  feet  up- 
ward. A  Japanese  evergreen  that  is  partic- 
ularly beautiful.  The  foliage  is  in  the  shape 
of  rather  long,  broad  needles  growing  around 
a  center  point — a  light,  yellowish  green  above, 
and  quite  white  underneath.  It  stands  out 
in  sharp  contrast  to  other  evergreens,  and 
should  always  be  planted  where  it  can  sur- 
vive the  winters,  for  it  will  not  live  much 
further  north  than  New  Jersey. 

THUYA  (Arborvitse) .  3  feet  upward.  All 
the  varieties  of  this  evergreen  are  hardy. 
Most  satisfactory  and  best-known  are: 

217 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER    GARDEN 

T.  ELEGANTISSIMA  AUREA.  The  young 
shoots  are  quite  yellow  in  summer,  and  in 
winter  turn  to  bronze. 

T.  OCCIDENTALIS  (American  Arborvitae). 
The  well-known  variety,  excellent  for  hedges. 
Needs  plenty  of  shearing  to  keep  it  thick. 

T.  SIBIRICA.  A  low-growTing  variety,  with 
bluish  green  foliage;  particularly  hardy. 

HARDY    PERENNIALS 

Almost  all  perennials  can  be  easily  grown 
from  seed,  which  may  be  sown  in  the  spring, 
or  in  August,  in  rows  in  the  seed-bed.  After 
careful  weeding  and  watering,  the  plants  will 
be  large  enough  by  October  1st  to  trans- 
plant either  into  rows  or  into  the  borders 
w^here  they  are  to  bloom  the  following  year. 
Plants  can  be  bought  from  nurserymen,  and 
old  plants  of  such  varieties  as  rudbeckia, 
phlox,  peony,  larkspur,  etc.,  may  be 
divided. 

ACHILLEA,  THE  PEARL  (Milfoil,  or  Yarrow). 
12  inches.  Plant  in  the  spring,  or  in  the  fall 

218 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

before  October  15th.  Blooms  in  June  and 
July.  Is  both  yellow  and  white,  but  it  is  far 
more  attractive  and  satisfactory  as  a  white 
flower. 

ACONITUM  NAPELLUS  (Monkshood).  3  to 
4  feet.  Plant  in  October  or  early  spring. 
Blooms  from  the  end  of  July  until  frost. 
One  of  the  most  beautiful  blue  flowers,  that 
is  not  usually  appreciated  as  it  should  be. 
The  individual  flowers,  like  many  little 
caps,  make  a  most  effective  note  of  color  in 
the  border.  It  thrives  better  in  partial 
shade  and  should  be  planted  where  it  does 
not  get  the  full,  strong  sun.  The  handsome 
leaves  are  sometimes  affected  with  a  black 
microbian  disease,  and,  to  avoid  this,  the 
plants  must  be  sprayed  in  April,  May  and 
June  with  Bordeaux  mixture. 

ANCHUSA  ITALICA,  DROPMORE  VARIETY 
(Sea  Bugloss).  3  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  the 
early  spring,  or  in  the  fall  before  October 
15th.  Blooms  from  about  June  1st  for  six 
weeks.  A  very  healthy  plant  with  long  spikes 

219 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

of  deep  blue   flowers,   which  are  very  orna- 
mental. 

AGROSTEMMA  CORONARIA  (Mullein  Pink) 
and  A.  FLOS  Jovis  (Flower  of  Jove).  (Rose 
Campion).  3  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring,  or  in 
the  fall  before  October  15th.  Blooms  in  June 


Anemone 

and  July.  This  plant  has  silvery  foliage  and 
pink-like  flowers  in  deep  rose  and  crimson; 
very  useful  in  the  pink  border. 

ANEMONE  JAPONICA,  WHIRLWIND  and  ALBA 
(Japanese  Windflower).  2  to  3  feet.  Plant  in 
the  spring  that  it  may  be  well  established  by 

220 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND    BULBS 

winter.  Blooms  in  August  and  September. 
There  are  red  and  pink  varieties,  but  as  a 
white  flower  it  is  one  of  the  garden  queens; 
and  who  does  not  always  prefer  a  white  flower? 
It  will  do  well  in  partial  shade,  and  is  quite 
hardy,  but  needs  some  slight  covering  in 
\vinter.  Can  be  used  satisfactorily  both  in 
borders  and  in  beds  by  itself. 

AQUILEGIA  (Columbine).  2  to  3  feet.  Plant 
early  in  the  spring,  or  after  September  15th. 
Blooms  the  end  of  May  and  June.  An  impor- 
tant, beautiful  perennial.  The  long-spurred 
flowers  are  of  many  beautiful  colors  and 
always  a  great  source  of  delight  to  the  flower 
lover.  Planted  in  partial  shade,  in  front  of 
azaleas,  laurel,  rhododendron  or  ferns,  it  is 
particularly  delightful. 

ASTER,  HARDY  (Michaelmas  Daisy,  or 
Starwort).  1  to  4  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring. 
Blooms  from  the  middle  of  August  until  frost. 
Our  common  roadside  aster;  in  many  colors, 
from  white  through  the  pink,  lavender  and 
purple  shades.  Very  effective  and  beautiful. 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER   GARDEN 


Is  best  in  shrubberies  or  in  the  wild  garden. 
There  are  many  varieties — one  seedsman  lists 
one  hundred  and  twenty-nine.  A  border  of 

hardy  asters  is 
always  a  beau- 
tiful addition  to 
the  garden. 

BAMBOO, 
HARDY.  14  to 
20  feet.  Plant 
in  the  spring  or 
fall.  These  tall 
grasses  need  a 
rich  soil  and 
plenty  of  water. 
They  should 
starwort  also  be  heavily 

mulched,  both  in  summer  and  winter,  and 
should  be  planted  in  a  sheltered  position. 
Are  particularly  good  against  a  background 
of  native  trees  and  along  the  banks  of  a 
pond  or  stream. 

BAPTLSIA    AUSTRALIS    and    B.    TINCTORIA 
222 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

(False  Indigo).  2  feet.  Plant  in  the  early 
spring,  or  in  t^e  fall  before  October  15th. 
Blooms  in  June  and  July.  A  healthy  plant 
with  spikes  of  flowers  which  are  dark  blue 
in  the  Australis,  and  yellow  in  the  Tinctoria. 
Very  useful  in  a  blue  border  or  in  the  wild 
garden. 

BELLIS  PERENNIS  (English  Daisy).  2  to 
6  inches.  Can  be  raised,  like  all  perennials, 
from  seed  sown  either  in  the  spring  or  in 
July  and  August.  Later,  it  should  be  trans- 
planted to  where  it  is  to  bloom.  Should  be 
covered  in  winter.  Blooms  in  May  and  June. 
This  little,  ball-shaped,  white-and-pink  flower 
is  familiar  to  all.  Generally  used  as  an  edging 
for  beds  and  borders. 

BOCCONIA  CORDATA  (Plume  Poppy).  5  to 
8  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring,  or  in  the  fall 
before  October  15th.  Blooms  in  July  or 
August.  A  large,  decorative  plant,  with 
handsome  leaves  and  long  spikes  of  small, 
feathery  white  flowrers  that  are  succeeded 
by  bronze-green  seed-pods.  Very  attractive 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

in    shrubberies     or     in    wild     borders, 
increases  rapidly. 


It 


Bocconia 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

BOLTONIA  GLASTIFOLIA  and    B.   LATISQUAMA 

(False  Chamomile).  4  to  6  feet.  Plant  in  the 
spring,  or  in  the  fall  before  October  15th. 
Blooms  in  August  and  September.  A  very 
useful  and  beautiful  perennial.  When  in 
bloom,  it  is  one  mass  of  white  or  pink  daisy- 
like  flowers. 

CAMPANULA  MEDIUM  (Canterbury  Bells). 
3  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring,  or,  if  the  plants 
are  already  where  they  are  to  bloom,  dig  in 
around  each  a  little  manure  or  bone  meal,  in 
April.  They  should  be  staked.  Canterbury 
Bells  are  easily  raised  from  seed,  but  the  seed- 
lings should  be  transplanted  by  September 
20th  into  the  beds  where  they  are  to  bloom, 
in  order  that  they  may  be  well  rooted  before 
the  winter.  Blooms  in  June  and  July  for  over 
a  month.  The  most  satisfactory  of  the  Cam- 
panula family.  Beautiful  in  borders  in  front 
of  early  pink  phlox  that  should  bloom  at  the 
same  time,  and  back  of  the  Sweet  William, 
or  Newport  Pink 

C.    MEDIUM   CALYCANTHEMA    (Cup   and   Sail- 
225 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

cer;  Canterbury  Bells).  2  to  3  feet.  Another 
form  of  the  same  flower,  well  described  by  its 
name. 

C.  PYRAMIDALIS  (Chimney  Bellflower).  4  to 
6  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring.  Blooms  in  July 
and  August.  The  tall  spikes  of  bloom  of 
white  or  blue  are  quite  remarkable,  but, 
because  when  grown  in  the  garden  the  stalks 
bloom  irregularly — some  flowers  here,  some 
there — it  is  not  universally  admired.  When 
grown  and  forced  in  greenhouses,  or  in  shade, 
the  whole  stalk  blooms  at  once  and  is  very 
beautiful. 

CHRYSANTHEMUM,  HARDY  POMPON.  2  to  3 
feet.  Plant  in  the  spring.  Only  the  Pompon 
varieties  are  really  hardy.  They  need  a  rich 
soil,  and  a  sunny,  sheltered  place  where  they 
can  be  protected  from  early  frosts.  Bloom 
often  into  November,  as  only  a  very  severe 
frost  affects  them.  No  buds  should  be  allowed 
to  form  until  September,  and  until  then  all 
shoots  should  be  pinched  back.  The  hardy 
chrysanthemums  give  a  profusion  of  small, 

226 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 


ragged  blossoms,  growing  in  clusters,  and 
come  in  all  the  best  colors — white,  rose, 
violet-crimson,  yellow,  orange  and  brown. 
Old  plants  should 
be  divided  to 
about  four  shoots 
each  and  trans- 
planted very  early 
in  the  spring  when 
these  same  shoots 
are  about  3  inches 
high.  The  aphids 
which  sometimes 
appear  may  be 
killed  by  spraying 
with  tobacco 
water. 

COREOPSIS 
GRANDIFLORA.  3 
feet.  Sow  in  seed- 
bed in  early  spring. 
Separate  when  the 
plants  crowd  each 


Coreopsis  grandiflora 


227 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

other,  and  in  the  autumn  transplant  to  the 
borders  or  to  rows  in  the  garden  for  cutting. 
A   valuable    bright    yellow   flower,  —  blooms 
continuously,  has  long  stems;  quite  hardy. 
DELPHINIUM  (Larkspur).  4  to  8  feet.  Plant 


Delphinium 
,228 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

in  the  fall.  No  manure  should  be  allowed  to 
come  near  the  roots,  but  bone  meal  may  be 
used  in  May,  and  coal-ashes  should  be 
sprinkled  on  the 
crown  in  the 
autumn  as  a 
preventive  of 
the  white  grub 
which  destroys 
the  plant.  Grows 
so  high  that  it 
should  always 
be  staked.  Lark- 
spur is  easily 
grown  from  seed , 
but  should  be 

finally     Set     OUt,  Delphinium 

where  it  is  to  bloom,  by  September  20th. 
Begins  blooming  the  end  of  June,  and  if  the 
stalks  are  cut  down  when  the  plant  has 
finished  blooming,  a  second,  and  often  a  third, 
crop  of  blossoms  will  be  produced.  There  are 
often  twelve  to  twenty  stalks  of  blossoms  on 

229 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

a  single  plant.  The  plants  should  be  given 
a  little  bone  meal  each  time  they  are  cut 
down.  The  larkspur  has  been  wonderfully 
developed,  and  there  are  many  varieties.  The 
English  catalogues  mention  over  two  hun- 
dred. These  are  tall-  and  low-growing,  single 
and  double,  light  blue  and  dark  blue,  blue 
and  lavender,  and  all  these  shades  combined. 
DIANTHUS  BARBATUS  (Newport  Pink;  Sw^eet 
William).  1  to  2  feet.  Considered  a  perennial, 
but  it  is  wiser  to  sow  fresh  seed  every  year 
than  to  rely  on  dividing  old  plants.  Sow  the 
seed  in  the  seed-bed  in  rows,  in  May,  and, 
in  July,  transplant  to  about  6  to  8  inches 
apart.  Finally,  in  the  fall,  by  September  20th, 
transplant  the  little  plants  to  the  beds  or  bor- 
ders where  they  are  to  bloom  the  following 
year.  Blooms  in  June,  for  nearly  a  month. 
An  old-time  garden  favorite,  with  straight, 
stiff  stems  and  large  heads  of  bloom,  often 
five  inches  across.  Individual  flowers  are 
often  as  large  as  a  nickel.  Sweet  Williams 
make  a  beautiful  edging  for  a  border.  It  is 

230  ' 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND  '  BULBS 

a  healthy  plant,  remains  in  bloom  for<  fully 
three  weeks,  and  the  flowers  are  of  beautiful 
colors — white,  pink,  crimson,  yellow,  white 
with  a  pink  eye.  Newport  Pink,  a  new 
variety,  is  particularly  beautiful,  being  a 
watermelon-pink.  It  does  not,  however,  seem 
to  be  quite  as  hardy  as  the  other  varieties. 

DICTAMNUS  (Gas  Plant).  2  to  3  feet.  Plant 
in  the  spring  in  a  sunny  place.  It  should  be 
seldom  transplanted,  but  the  roots  may  be 
separated.  Blooms  in  June  and  July.  In  hot 
weather,  the  odd  pink-and-white  flowers  give 
out  a  fragrant  oil  which  a  lighted  match  will 
ignite.  The  tall  spikes  of  bloom  make  this  a 
very  handsome  perennial. 

DICENTRA  (Bleeding  Heart).  1  to  2  feet. 
Plant  in  the  fall,  as  it  starts  very  early  in  the 
spring.  Blooms  in  May  and  June.  The  long 
racemes  of  heart-shaped  pink-and-white 
flowers  are  familiar  to  all  lovers  of  old- 
fashioned  gardens. 

DIGITALIS  (Foxglove).  2  to  4  feet.  Plant 
in  the  spring  or  fall.  Sow  the  seed  in  April  in 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

the  seed-bed.  Transplant  about  the  middle 
of  July  into  rows,  6  inches  apart,  and  then 
transplant  finally,  not  later  than  September 
20th,  to  where  the  plants  are  to  bloom  the 
following  year.  Foxgloves  often  seed  them- 
selves, and  the  little  plants  thus  seeded  can 
be  taken  up  and  replanted  in  the  spring. 
Blooms  in  June  and  July  for  about  a  month. 
One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  invaluable  of 
all  the  perennials.  Is  white,  pink,  lavender 
and  purple.  The  great  spikes  are  a  mass  of 
hanging,  bell-shaped  flowers,  and  a  row  of 
them  in  a  border  is  a  beautiful  sight. 

ERYNGIUM  (Sea  Holly).  2  to  3  feet.  Plant 
in  the  early  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  from  July. 
A  large,  decorative  plant,  suggestive  of 
a  thistle,  with  grey-green  flowers.  Excellent 
in  shrubberies  and  wild  gardens. 

EUPATORIUM  PURPUREUM.  if  to  4  feet. 
Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  from 
August  until  frost.  A  very  healthy,  useful 
plant.  Good  in  borders  or  the  wild  garden. 
The  flowers  grow  in  clusters,  and  are  white 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

and,  in  the  Purpureum,  our  native  variety, 
purple. 

FlJNKIA      SUBCORDATA       and      F.       CCERULEA 

(Plantain  Lily;  Day  Lily).  1 1/2  to  2  feet. 
Plant  in  the 
spring  or  fall. 
Should  be  rarely 
disturbed. 
Blooms  in  Au- 
gust and  Sep- 
tember.  The 
broad,  glossy 
foliage  is  very 
ornamental,  and 
the  white,  or 
lilac,  flowers  are 
attractive.  Does 
well  in  the  sun 
but  prefers  par- 
tial shade.  Funkia 

GAILLARDIA  GRANDIFLORA  (Blanket  Flower). 
2  feet.  Plant  in  spring  or  autumn.  Begins  to 
bloom  in  June  and  continues  all  summer.  A 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

most  effective  perennial,  with  flowers  shading 
from  brown  in  the  center  through  crimson  and 
orange  to  yellow  on  the  edge  of  the  petals. 
It  should  be  protected  in  winter. 

(JENTIANA  ANDREWSII  (Blue  Gentian).  2 
to  3  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms 
in  September.  This  familiar  wood  and  meadow 
flower  is  a  deep,  rich  blue.  Particularly  good 
in  damp  places. 

GYPSOPHILA  PANICULATA  (Baby's  Breath). 
2  to  3  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms 
in  August  and  September.  A  mass  of  delicate, 
tiny  white  flowers.  Perhaps  more  graceful 
and  dainty  than  any  other  perennial. 

GRASSES,  ORNAMENTAL.  6  inches  to  10  feet. 
Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  All  grasses  need  rich 
soil  and  plenty  of  water.  ERIANTHUS  RAVENNA 
(Plume  Grass,  or  Hardy  Pampas).  GYNERIUM 
ARGENTEUM  (Pampas  Grass).  A  very  effective 
grass  with  long,  silvery  plumes.  PHALARIS 
ARUNDINACEA  VARiEGATA.  Variegated  Ribbon 
Grass.  UNIOLA  LATIFOLIA  (Spike  Grass) .  One  of 
our  finest  and  most  ornamental  native  grasses. 

234 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 


HELIANTHUS  MULTIFLORUS  PLENUS  (Hardy 
Sunflower) .  4  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring 
or  fall.  Blooms  from  July  to  frost,  according 
to  the  variety.  An  excellent  perennial  for 
shrubberies  or  large  borders.  The  yellow 
flowers  are  both  large  and  small,  single  and 
double. 

HELIOPSIS  (Orange  Sunflower).  2  to  3  feet. 
Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Begins  blooming 
in  July.  Much  like 
the  Helianthus,  but 
begins  to  bloom 
sooner,  and,  being 
smaller,  is  very  good 
for  cutting. 

HELLEBORUS 
(Christmas  Rose). 
18  inches.  Plant  in 
the  fall.  Blooms  in 
February  and 
March.  This  plant 
is  very  satisfactory, 

as      it     gives     many  Helleborus  niger 

235 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 

large  white  blossoms  when  snow  is  on  the 
ground. 

HEMEROCALLIS  FLAVA,  FLORHAM  and 
AURANTIACA  (Yellow  Day  Lily).  1^  to  4 
feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  in 
June  and  July,  according  to  the  variety. 
Flava,  perhaps  the  most  familiar  variety,  has 
large,  sweet,  yellow  flowers. 

HEPATICA  (Liver  Leaf).  6  inches.  Plant  in 
the  fall.  Blooms  in  the  earliest  spring.  Our 
native  Hepatica  has  blue  flowers;  the  culti- 
vated varieties  are  white,  red  and  purple. 
Lovely  in  shady  places,  along  streams  or 
ponds,  and  in  woody  corners. 

HESPERIS  MATRONALIS  (Rocket).  2  to  4 
feet.  Plant  in  fall.  Blooms  in  May  and  June. 
A  strong,  healthy  perennial,  much  like  a 
phlox.  It  is  white,  pink,  lilac  and  purple,  and 
quite  fragrant.  It  increases  rapidly. 

HIBISCUS  MOSCHEUTOS  (Mallow).  3  to  4 
feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  in  the  fall.  Blooms 
in  July  and  August.  A  very  beautiful  plant, 
easy  to  raise  in  moist  places,  but  will  succeed 

236 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

in  shrubberies  and  large  borders  if  mulched 
and  kept  wet.  The  flowers^  are  pale  pink,  deep 
pink  with  a  deeper-colored  eye,  and  white 
with  a  crimson  eye. 

HOLLYHOCK.  4  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  the 
early  spring.  It  can  be  easily  raised  from 
seed,  which  should  be  sown  in  rows  early  in 
April  in  the  seed-bed,  transplanted  in  July, 
about  8  inches  apart,  and  then  once  more  in 
September  to  where  the  plants  are  to  bloom. 
Hollyhocks  should  be  set  out  2  feet  apart. 
The  plants  must  be  sprayed  with  Bordeaux 
mixture  as  soon  as  they  are  up,  and  again 
about  May  10th,  and  once  more  about  June 
1st,  to  prevent  rust — an  unsightly  disease 
which  much  disfigures  the  leaves  and  finally 
causes  them  to  drop  off.  A  beautiful  and 
highly  decorative  plant,  with  large,  single  and 
double  flowers  that  grow  along  the  stalk  and 
are  of  many  colors.  It  is  invaluable  for  the 
back  of  a  border. 

INCARVILLEA  (Hardy  Gloxinia),  l^  to 
2  feet.  Plant  in  the  early  spring,  in  sun  or 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 


shade,  but  should  be  covered  in  winter. 
Blooms  in  July  and  August.  A  very  attrac- 
tive new  perennial.  The  rose-pink  flowers 
grow  in  clusters  and  last  a  long  time. 

IRIS.  2  to  3 
feet.  Plant  all 
Iris  in  the  fall, 
in  rich,  well- 
drained  beds. 
They  should  be 
well  mulched  in 
summer  and 
kept  wet.  In 
winter  it  is  wise 
to  use  a  slight 
covering. 

I.   K^MPFERI 

Japanese  iris  (Japanese  Iris). 

Blooms  from  the  middle  of  June,  for  six 
weeks.  One  of  the  most  wonderful  of  all  gar- 
den flowers,  and  one  which  should  never  be 
omitted  under  any  conditions.  The  great  single 
and  double  flowers  are  white,  violet,  purple 

238 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

and  crimson.  Some  varieties  are  shaded  and 
veined.  No  words  can  adequately  describe 
their  beauty.  The  roots  increase  and  can  be 
divided. 

I.  GERMANICA  (German  Iris).  Another  most 
beautiful  and  satisfactory  variety,  not  as  large 
as  the  Ksempferi,  but  very  desirable.  Blooms 
from  the  end  of  May,  for  three  weeks.  It  also 
increases  and  can  be  divided.  The  colors  are 
yellow,  white,  mauve  and  purple,  and  many 
varieties  combine  two  or  more  of  these  colors. 

I.  FLORENTINA  (Florentine  Iris).  Blooms 
the  end  of  May. 

I.  ANGLICA,  MONT  BLANC  (English  Iris). 
Blooms  early  in  June.  3  feet. 

I.  SIBIRICA  (Siberian  Iris).  3  feet.  Blooms 
in  May.  A  small,  delicate,  rather  tall-growing 
Iris  that  is  purple  and  white,  veined  with 
mauve. 

I.  HISPANICA  (Spanish  Iris).  1  to  \y%  feet. 
Blooms  the  middle  of  June.  Many  colors. 

LAVANDULA  (Lavender).  1^  to  2  feet. 
Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  in 

239 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

July  and  August.  The  sweet  lavender  of  our 
grandmothers,  who  used  the  dried  flowers 
among  their  linen  to  give  it  fragrance.  Pretty, 
but  not  particularly  effective.  Many  who  do 
not  want  to  be  without  it  grow  it  in  the 
vegetable  garden. 

LIATRIS  (Blazing  Star;  Gay  Feather).  4  to 
5  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring,  or  fall  before 
October  15th.  Blooms  from  July  to  Septem- 
ber. An  invaluable  plant  in  the  mixed  bor- 
der, for  its  tall  spikes  of  purplish  blue  flowers 
are  most  effective. 

LILIUM  (Lily).  Plant  lilies  in  the  early 
spring,  or  in  October.  They  need  well-drained, 
rich  soil,  and  should  be  set  out  with  a  handful 
of  sand  around  each  bulb.  They  should  be 
planted  8  to  18  inches  deep,  and  be  well 
covered  in  winter,  and,  if  possible,  mulched 
in  summer.  All  but  the  L.  rubrum  do  well  in 
the  sun,  and  look  better  in  the  border  when 
planted  in  clumps  of  six  or  more.  Beds  of 
lilies,  either  of  one  variety  or  mixed,  are 
very  handsome. 

240 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 


L.  AURATUM.  Blooms  from  the  middle  of 
July,  for  one  month.  Perhaps  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  most  fragrant  lily.  Will  come  up  only 
a  few  years  and 
then  it  is  gone 
—why,  no  one 
seems  to  quite 
understand — 
but  it  is  well 
worth  having. 

L.  SPECIOSUM 
ALBUM.  Blooms 
in  June  and 
July.  Needs  full 
sun.  This  lily 
can  be  separated 
about  every 
three  or  four  years.  It  must  be  planted  in  the 
fall,  by  October  15th. 

L.  CANADENSE  (Meadow  Lily).  Plant  in  the 
spring,  or  in  October.  Will  grow  anywhere,  but 
prefers  a  moist  place.  The  flowers  are  yellow, 
red  and  orange.  It  increases  very  satisfactorily. 


Lilium  auratum 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER   GARDEN 

L.  HANSONI.  Blooms  in  June.  A  perfectly 
hardy,  yellow  Japanese  lily. 

L.  LONGIFLORUM.  Blooms  early  in  July. 
Much  like  the  Bermuda  lily,  but  it  is  hardy. 

L.  TIGRINUM.  Blooms  in  July  and  increases 
rapidly.  The  old-fashioned  Tiger  lily.  By 
planting  the  little  black  bulbils  that  are  found 
on  the  stalk,  any  number  of  bulbs  can  be 
procured. 

L.  SPECIOSUM  RUBRUM.  Blooms  the  end 
of  August  and  early  in  September.  A  pink 
variety  that  thrives  and  increases;  needs 
partial  shade. 

L.  RUBELLUM.  Blooms  the  middle  of  June. 
A  pale  pink  lily. 

L.  KRAMERI.    Blooms  the  middle  of  June. 

L.  BROWNII.  Blooms  the  middle  of  July. 
A  large  lily,  white  inside  and  shaded  on  the 
outside  with  brown  and  purple. 

L.  WALLACEI.  Blooms  the  end  of  July.  A 
large,  apricot-colored  lily  with  brown  spots. 

L.  BATEMANNI.  Blooms  the  end  of  July. 
An  apricot-colored  lily  without  spots. 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

L.  CHALCEDONICUM  (Turk's  Cap).  Blooms 
the  end  of  July.  This  lily  grows  in  clusters 
and  looks  like  a  small  tiger  lily. 

L.  LEICHTLINI.  Blooms  in  August.  A 
Japanese  lily  that  is  pale  yellow  with  purple 
markings. 

L.  SUPERBUM.  Blooms  all  through  August. 
A  very  healthy,  free-blooming  lily  with  crim- 
son-orange flowers.  Sometimes  there  will  be 
as  many  as  thirty  flowers  on  one  stalk. 

L.  MELPOMENE.  Blooms  middle  of  August. 
Much  like  the  Rubrum  but  more  brilliant  in 
color. 

LOBELIA  CARDINALIS  (Cardinal  Flower; 
Syphilitica  hybrida,  Great  Lobelia).  1  to  3 
feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Needs  a  good, 
rich  soil,  and  must  be  kept  very  wet.  Blooms 
in  August  and  September.  The  Cardinal 
Flower  seen  growing  beside  all  mountain  lakes 
and  streams  is  a  rich,  fiery  red,  while  the 
Great  Lobelia  has  tall  spikes  of  blue  or  white 
flowers.  The  blue  is  the  best. 

243 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

LYSIMACHIA  CLETHROIDES  (Loosestrife) .  2  to 
3  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  A  very 
beautiful  perennial  with  white  or  yellow  flow- 
ers. The  L.  dethroides  has  tall,  drooping  spikes 
of  small  white  flowers. 

LUPINUS  (Lupine).  2  to  4  feet.  Plant  in 
the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  the  end  of  May,  for 
three  weeks.  Needs  good,  rich  soil  and  plenty 
of  water.  This  perennial  is  easily  raised  from 
seed,  which  should  be  sown  in  mid-April  after 
being  soaked  for  twenty -four  hours.  It  is  very 
healthy  and  hardy.  The  tall  spikes  of  blue, 
white  or  pink  flowers  are  most  effective,  and 
quite  invaluable  in  the  borders. 

LYCHNIS  CHALCEDONICA  (London  Pride ; 
Campion).  1  to  3  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or 
fall.  Very  easy  to  grow,  thriving  in  any  soil. 
Blooms  from  June,  according  to  variety.  A 
popular  hardy  plant  with  white,  rose  or  crim- 
son flowers.  The  best-known  variety,  Lon- 
don Pride,  blooms  all  summer  and  has  vivid 
scarlet  heads  of  bloom. 

MONARDA  DIDYMA  (Oswego  Tea)  and  ROSEA 
244 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND    BULBS 


(Bee  Balm).  (Bergamot.)  2  to  3  feet.  Plant 
in  the  spring  or  fall.  Thrives  in  any  soil  and 
in  either  sun  or  shade.  Blooms  in  July  and 
August.  The  odd  flowers  are  crimson,  rose- 
colored  and  white.  Bee  Balm  is  the  old, 
familiar  crimson  variety. 

MONTBRETIA.  1%  to  2  feet.  Plant  the 
bulbs  in  April  and  May,  in  clumps  of  twelve 
or  more.  Should  be  protected  in  winter. 
Blooms  all  summer.  One  of  the  most  brilliant 
of  our  summer- 
flowering  bulbs. 
The  spikes  of  del- 
icate flowers  are 
yellow,  orange 
and  scarlet. 

PEONIES, 
TREE.  2  to  4 
feet.  Plant  in 
the  spring  or  fall. 
Perfectly  hardy, 
but  should  be 
somewhat  pro- 


Peony 


245 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 


tected  in  winter,  and,  as  they  start  early, 
should  be  manured  in  the  fall.  Bloom  from 
the  middle  of  May.  The  flowers  are  rose  and 
white,  and  some  varieties  are  variegated. 

P.  JAPANESE  SINGLE.  2  to  3^  feet.  Plant 
in  the  fall.  Bloom  in  May  and  June.  Even 
more  beautiful  than  the  ordinary  double  peony. 
P.,  DOUBLE  HERBACEOUS.  3  to  4  feet. 
Plant  in  the  fall,  so  that  the  crown  is  covered 
with  about  3  inches  of  soil.  A  good,  rich  soil 
and  a  sunny  place,  with  plenty  of  water  while 

the  buds  are 
forming,  will 
make  them  mag- 
nificent. They 
will,  however, 
thrive  under  any 
conditions,  for 
they  are  very 
hardy,  healthy 
and  quite  free 
from  pests  of  any 

Papaver  orientale.    See  page  247.          kind.    All  peonies 

246 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

should  be  manured  in  the  fall,  as  they  start 
very  early.  When  once  planted,  peonies 
should  rarely,  if  ever,  be  disturbed.  Bloom 
in  May  and  June.  The  best  and  most  beauti- 
ful of  all  spring  flowers.  Better  in  masses,  or 
in  rows,  than  as  individual  plants. 

PAPAVER  ORIENTALS  (Oriental  Poppy).  2 
to  4  feet.  Plant  in  early  spring,  or  fall,  in 
almost  any  soil.  With  occasional  watering, 
and  a  mulch  in  the  fall,  this  plant  will  thrive 
and  increase  greatly  in  size,  and  the  roots 
may  be  divided.  Blooms  in  May  and  June. 
Far  surpassing  all  other  poppies  in  size  and 
brilliancy  of  color.  It  is  scarlet  and  pink. 
Can  easily  be  raised  from  seed. 

P.  NUDICAULE  (Iceland  Poppy).  1  to  2  feet. 
Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  all  sum- 
mer. Bright  green,  fern-like  foliage,  and  deli- 
cate white,  yellow,  orange  and  scarlet  flowers. 
A  pretty,  healthy  plant,  easy  to  grow. 

PHLOX.  Many  varieties.  3  to  4  feet. 
Plant  18  inches  apart,  in  the  fall,  from  Octo- 
ber 1st  to  15th,  or  in  earliest  spring.  Needs  a 

247 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

rich  soil.  Plenty  of  watering  increases  the 
size  of  the  blossoms.  Every  three  years,  each 
plant  should  be  lifted,  separated  into  bunches 
of  from  three  to  four  stalks  each,  and  reset. 
The  mildew  which  attacks  the  leaves  in 
moist  summers  can  be  arrested  by  a  dusting 
of  powdered  sulphur,  or  by  spraying  with  Bor- 
deaux mixture.  Phlox  will  bloom  from  June 
until  frost  if  both  early  and  late  varieties  are 
chosen,  and  if  the  heads  are  cut  off  as  soon 
as  they  have  finished  blooming.  One  of  the 
most  satisfactory  of  all  perennials,  and  abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  the  hardy  garden. 
It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  have  too 
many  plants,  as  there  are  so  many  varie- 
ties and  the  range  of  colors  is  so  great- 
white,  white  with  pink  and  red  and  purple 
eyes,  all  the  shades  of  pink  from  rose  to 
cherry,  scarlet  and  red,  combinations  of  rose 
and  red,  purple  and  combinations  of  pur- 
ple and  many  mottled  varieties.  By  breaking 
off  the  flower-heads  as  soon  as  they  have 
bloomed,  a  second  crop  will  often  be  produced. 

248 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AN       BULBS 

P.  SUBULATA  (Moss,  or  Mountain  Pink). 
6  inches.  Plant  in  the  fall.  Blooms  in  early 
spring.  The  pretty  evergreen  foliage  is  quite 
hidden  in  blooming-time  by  a  mass  of  color- 
rose,  lilac  and  white.  Good  for  the  rock-garden. 

PHYSOSTEGIA  (False  Dragonhead).  3  to  4 
feet.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms  in 
July  and  August.  A  very  beautiful  perennial, 
with  great  spikes  of  pink-and-white  bloom. 

PENTSTEMON  BARBATUS  TORREYI,  and  P. 
DIGITALIS  (Beard  Tongue).  2  to  4  feet.  Plant 
in  the  early  spring,  or  between  October  1st  and 
15th.  Blooms  from  June  to  September.  The 
tall  spikes  of  bloom  are  white,  red  and  blue. 
The  P.  barbatus  Torreyi  is  perhaps  the  most 
beautiful  variety.  Its  spikes  of  flowers  are  a 
brilliant  scarlet.  It  blooms  in  June  and  July. 
The  P.  digitalis  has  long  heads  of  white  flow- 
ers. It  increases  rapidly  and  is  very  effective. 

PLATYCODON  MARIESI  (Balloon  Flower;  Jap- 
anese Bellflower).  2  to  3  feet.  Plant  in  the 
spring.  Needs  good  soil  and  covering  in  win- 
ter. Blooms  from  the  middle  of  July,  for  six 

249 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER   GARDEN 

weeks.  A  beautiful  perennial,  not  widely 
known.  The  blue  or  white  cup-shaped  flowers 
are  like  little  balloons  when  in  bud.  It  is  not 
attacked  by  pests  and  is  very  healthy;  has 


Platycodon 

often  nearly  a  hundred  blossoms  on  one 
plant,  and  is  easily  raised  from  seed. 

PYRETHRUM.  3  to  5  feet.  Plant  in  good 
soil  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Must  have  full  sun. 
Blooms  in  June  and  again  in  September.  A 
very  fine  perennial,  with  great  daisy-like 
flowers  in  crimson,  white  and  pink.  Can  be 
raised  from  seed. 

RUDBECKIA,  GOLDEN  GLOW  (Cone  Flower). 
250 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND    BULBS 

4  to  8  feet.  Plant  in  the  fall  or  early  spring. 
An  absolutely  hardy,  healthy  perennial  that 
will  grow  in  any  soil.  Useful  as  a  screen  or  in 
the  back  of  a  border.  Must  be  staked.  It 
increases  tremendously,  and  is  good  for  cut- 
ting. It  should  be  divided  in  October.  Spray- 
ing with  tobacco  water  will  kill  the  aphids 
that  sometimes  attack  this  plant.  There  are 
several  varieties — some  with  yellow,  others 
with  purple  flowers.  The  best-known  va- 
riety, Golden  Glow,  is  in  blooming-time  a 
mass  of  deep  yellow  blossoms,  like  small, 
double  sunflowers. 

SALVIA  GRANDIFLORA  AZUREA.  Can  be  raised 
from  seed  SOWTL  when  the  ground  is  warm,  and 
also  increased  by  separating  the  roots.  Plant 
grows  from  two  to  three  feet  high,  and  is 
covered,  in  August  and  September,  with  open 
clusters  of  light  blue  flowers.  The  plants 
need  winter  protection;  in  cold  localities,  the 
coldframe  is  advisable  for  the  first  year. 

SCABIOSA  CAUCASICA  and  S.  ALBA.  lj 
to  2^2  feet-  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall, 

251 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

in  any  ordinary  soil,  but  it  must  have  a  sunny, 
well-drained  place.  Blooms  from  June  to 
September.  The  large,  delicate  blue  and  white 
flowers  are  pretty  in  the  border  and  good  for 
house  decoration. 

SEDUM  SPECTABILE  (Stonecrop).  2  to  8 
inches.  Plant  in  the  spring  or  fall.  Blooms 
in  August  and  September.  The  low-growing 
varieties  are  good  for  rockeries,  and  the  taller 
ones  are  useful  in  borders  for  late  summer 
blossoming.  The  heads  of  bloom  are  white, 
rose  and  crimson.  Perhaps  the  prettiest 
variety  is  the  S.  spectabile,  with  pink  flowers. 

SPIRAEA  ARUNCUS,  S.  PALMATA  and  S.  PAL- 
MATA  ELEGANS  (Meadow  Sweet;  Goat's  Beard). 
2  to  6  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring,  or  in  the  fall 
between  October  1st  and  15th.  Prefers  partial 
shade  and  a  good,  rich  soil.  Blooms  in  June 
and  July.  A  very  beautiful  perennial  with 
heads  of  feathery  pink,  white  or  crimson 
flowers.  The  S.  aruncus,  a  white  variety,  is 
most  attractive.  The  S.  palmata  elegans  and 
S.  palmata  are  fine  pink  varieties. 

252 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

TRILLIUM  (Wood  Lily;  Wake  Robin).  6  to 
8  inches.  Plant  in  the  fall.  Blooms  in  April 
and  early  May.  An  excellent  plant  for 
any  shady  cor- 
ner. Its  favor- 
ite situation  is 
under  trees,  or 
along  a  pond  or 
brook. 

T  R  i  T  o  M  A 
(Red-hotPoker). 
3  to  5  feet.  Plant 
in  the  fall,  for  it 

Starts  Very  early  Trillium  grandiflorum 

in  the  spring.  Blooms  from  August  until  frost. 
A  very  effective  plant,  with  tall,  stiff  spikes 
of  bloom  that  are  a  brilliant  scarlet,  shading 
to  orange  on  the  tips  of  the  queer,  tube- 
shaped  flowers.  It  increases  rapidly.  It  will 
grow  in  any  soil,  but  is  much  improved  by  a 
good,  rich  soil.  Tritoma  should  be  well 
covered  in  winter.  In  fact,  some  growers 
recommend  taking  up  the  roots  in  very  cold 

253 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

localities  and  storing  them  in  sand  in  a  cool 
cellar.  It  is  effective  in  borders  and  also  in 
masses,  either  in  beds  or  in  front  of  other  taller- 
growing  plants.  Is  easily  raised  from  seed. 

VALERIANA  COCCINEA  ALBA  (White  Vale- 
rian). 2  to  3  feet.  Plant  in  the  fall,  before 
October  15th,  for  it  starts  very  early.  Blooms 
in  May  and  June.  An  attractive,  fragrant 
perennial,  excellent  in  a  white  border.  The 
tall-growing  heads  of  bloom  are  a  great  addi- 
tion to  an  old-time  garden. 

VERONICA  LONGIFOLIA  SUBSESSILIS  (Speed- 
well). 1  to  3  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring,  that  it 
may  become  well  established  before  winter. 
A  beautiful  blue  perennial,  blooming,  from  the 
middle  of  July,  for  a  month.  Plants  three 
years  old  bear  eight  to  ten  tall  spikes  of 
blossoms;  needs  a  good  soil  and  plenty  of 
watering;  is  very  healthy  and  quite  hardy  if 
covered  in  winter. 

VINCA  (Periwinkle,  or  Trailing  Myrtle). 
6  inches.  Plant  in  the  spring.  Blooms  in 
midsummer.  A  trailing  evergreen  plant,  with 

254 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND  'BULBS 

star-like  blue  flowers.  Can  be  planted  with 
success  wherever  grass  will  not  grow — in  very 
shady  places,  around  the  roots  of  trees  or  on 
steep  slopes. 

VIOLET,  HARDY.  6  inches  to  1  foot.  Plant 
in  the  spring,  or  fall  before  October  15. 
Blooms  in  early  May.  Our  native  white  and 
purple  violet — also  a  pretty  yellow  one — is 
an  attractive,  early  -  blooming  flower  for  the 
border,  or  along  streams  or  ponds. 

WALLFLOWER.  1  foot.  Plant  in  the  spring 
or  fall.  Blooms  in  June.  One  of  the  oldest 
perennials,  always  associated  with  our  grand- 
mothers' gardens.  The  pretty  brown,  yellow- 
and  maroon-colored  flowers  are  familiar  to 
many. 

YUCCA  FILAMENTOSA  (Adam's  Needle).  3  to 
4  feet.  Plant  in  the  spring.  Blooms  in  July. 
A  Mexican  desert  plant,  and  one  of  the  most 
effective  in  the  garden.  The  great  spikes  of 
bell-like,  creamy  white  flowers,  resembling 
orchids,  are  unequaled  for  effectiveness.  It 
seems  to  prefer  a  very  dry,  sunny  place,  and 

255 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

hence  will  succeed  where  few  other  plants  are 
satisfactory.  It  should  be  somewhat  covered 
in  winter,  as  a  late  spring  frost  is  apt  to  kill 
the  flower  stalk,  which  starts  very  early.  It  is 
otherwise  perfectly  hardy  and  healthy,  need- 
ing no  water  or  fertilizer. 

ANNUALS 

ACROCLINIUM  (Everlasting).  1^  to  Ij  feet. 
Sow  the  seed  early  in  spring,  and  trans- 
plant later  to  where  it  is  to  bloom.  Blooms 
from  early  in  July.  This  plant  blossoms  pro- 
fusely and  has  a  wide  variety  of  colors. 
White  and  pale  pink  are  the  best. 

AGERATUM  (Floss  Flower).  1  to  1J^ 
feet.  Sow  the  seed  in  a  hotbed  in  March. 
Transplant  to  the  open  ground  in  May,  or 
sow  the  seed  outdoors  in  May  and  transplant 
later.  Blooms  from  early  in  July  until  late 
fall,  if  the  dead  flowers  are  cut  off.  Perhaps 
the  most  satisfactory  blue  bedding-out  plant. 
The  feathery  blossoms  grow  in  such  profusion 
that  the  foliage  is  often  quite  hidden.  It  is 

256 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

white  and  several  shades  of  blue,  but  as  a 
blue  flower  it  is  eminently  successful 

ALOYSIA  CITRIODORA  (Lemon  Verbena).  8 
inches  to  2  feet.  Plant  out-of-doors  in  May. 
Can  be  started  from  cuttings,  or  small  plants 
can  be  bought  from  any  nurseryman.  The 
pretty,  very  fragrant  leaves  are  familiar  to 
all,  and  can  be  put  to  many  uses. 

ALYSSUM  (Madwort).  4  to  8  inches.  Sow 
the  seed  in  May  where  it  is  to  bloom.  Blooms 
almost  all  summer.  A  most  satisfactory 
flower  for  edging  borders.  Its  delicate  clus- 
ters of  sweet-scented,  tiny  white  flowers 
make  a  good  frame  for  the  larger,  handsomer 
and  showier  flowers. 

ANTIRRHINUM  (Snapdragon).  1  to  2^  feet. 
Some  sow  the  seed  for  early  blooming  in  the 
fall  and  cover  lightly  during  the  winter, 
but  this  can  be  done  safely  only  in  rather  mild 
climates.  In  cold  localities,  it  is  better  to 
start  snapdragon  in  hotbeds  in  March  and 
transfer  to  the  open  ground  in  May.  It 
needs  a  rich  soil  and  a  sunny  situation. 

257 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 

Blooms  from  July  until  frost,  if  the  dead 
flowers  "are  kept  cut.  A  wonderful  flower,  just 
beginning  to  be  appreciated.  There  is  no 
annual  that  more  repays  the  gardener  in 
effectiveness.  The  tall  spikes  of  bloom  are 
sturdy  and  healthy,  and  are  one  mass  of  the 
odd  little  flowers  that  give  the  plant  its 
name.  It  comes  in  many  colors — deep  crim- 
son, deep  yellow,  and  wonderful  orange-brown 
tones,  but  the  creamy  whites  and  pale  pinks 
are,  perhaps,  the  most  enchanting. 

ASTER,  CHRYSANTHEMUM-FLOWERED, 
BRANCHING  PEONY  -  FLOWERED,  OSTRICH 
FEATHER,  and  AMERICAN.  1  to  3  feet.  For 
early  blooming,  sow  the  seeds  in  a  coldframe 
in  April.  For  late  blooming,  sow  in  May,  in 
the  open  ground.  When  the  seedlings  have 
two  leaves,  transplant  them  nine  to  twelve 
inches  apart,  where  they  are  to  bloom.  They 
should  have  rich  soil.  A  little  wood-ashes 
is  a  good  fertilizer.  A  sure  method  of  de- 
stroying the  black  beetles  that  infest  the 
blossoms  is  to  pick  them  off,  one  at  a  time, 

258 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

and  drop  them  into  a  convenient  pan  of  ker- 
osene. Early  varieties  begin  blooming  in  July, 
and,  by  judicious  sowing,  a  succession  of 
flowers  can  be  had  until  frost.  There  is  no 
more  satisfactory  annual  and  none  that 
better  repays 
cultivation.  The 
new  varieties  are 
wonderful  in  the 
size  and  fullness 
of  the  heads. 
The  names  of 
the  different  va- 
rieties quite  de- 
scribe  them. 
Particularly  at- 
tractive are  the 
Comet,  a  large, 

White,       branch-  Aster,  Ostrich  Plume 

ing  aster,  and  the  Daybreak,  an  exquisite 
shell-pink  American  aster.  Purity,  another 
American  aster,  is  snow-white. 

BALSAM,     DOUBLE      CAMELLIA-FLOWERED 
259 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 

(Lady's  Slipper).  2  feet.  Sow  the  seed  indoors 
in  April;  outdoors  in  May.  Transplant  to  18 
inches  apart.  Blooms  in  July  and  August. 
The  old-fashioned  garden  flower  in  modern 
perfection.  In  blooming-time,  the  plant  is 
one  mass  of  scarlet,  pink  or  white  flowers, 
from  root  to  tip,  the  delicate  green  leaves 
showing  between  the  blossoms. 

BEGONIA,  TUBEROUS-ROOTED.  6  to  8  inches. 
Plant  in  the  hotbed  for  early  blooming, 
and  in  the  open  ground,  in  May,  for  blos- 
soming in  August.  Plant  with  the  hollow  end 
of  the  bulb  uppermost,  and  cover  with  two 
inches  of  soil.  It  prefers  partial  shade,  but, 
well  mulched,  is  quite  contented  in  the  full 
sun.  The  bulbs  should  be  well  dried  and 
stored  in  a  cellar  in  winter.  It  has  large, 
rough  leaves  and  great,  single,  double  and 
frilled,  many -colored  flowers;  is  a  plant  suit- 
able to  use  as  a  carpet  under  lilies,  iris  and 
other  narrow-leaved  flowers. 

CALENDULA  (Pot  Marigold).  1  to  1%  feet. 
Sow  the  seed  in  May  where  it  is  to  bloom — 

260 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

preferably  a  sunny  place.  Blooms  in  August 
and  September — until  frost.  The  marigold 
of  Shakspere's  time  in  many  modern  varie- 
ties— both  single  and  double.  It  comes  in  all 
the  oranges  and  yellows,  and  many  varieties 
are  striped  and  shaded. 

CALLIOPSIS.  ll/2  to  C2  feet.  Sow  the  seed 
where  it  is  to  bloom  in  early  spring,  and,  later, 
thin  out  to  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  apart. 
Blooms  the  end  of  July  or  August.  The  deli- 
cate, ragged,  yellow  flowers,  with  dark  cen- 
ters, grow  on  tall,  slim  stems  and  are  very 
dainty  and  attractive. 

CANDYTUFT.  6  inches.  Sow  the  seed  in 
April  where  it  is  to  bloom.  Blooms  in  June. 
A  mass  of  small  white  flowers;  very  good  for 
edging  beds  and  borders. 

CANNA.  3  to  8  feet.  Plant  the  roots  either 
in  the  hotbed  in  April  or  in  the  open  ground 
in  May.  Blooms  from  July  until  frost.  No 
other  bedding-out  plant  is  more  satisfactory. 
The  tall  spikes  of  bloom,  either  red  or  yellow, 
or  the  two  colors  combined,  and  the  large, 

261 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

smooth,  green  leaves  make  it  exceedingly 
decorative.  It  can  be  used  in  masses,  or  a  few 
plants  can  be  scattered  through  the  borders. 
The  roots  must  be  stored  indoors  in  winter; 
they  will  be  found  to  increase  tremendously. 

CARNATION,  MARGUERITE,  PERPETUAL.  1 
to  lj/2  feet-  Sow  the  seed  in  May,  in  rich 
soil.  Transplant  in  September  to  where  it  is 
to  bloom  the  following  spring.  The  plants 
should  be  set  8  inches  apart,  and  must  be 
kept  well  watered.  In  winter  some  covering 
should  be  used.  For  early  flowering,  start  the 
plants  in  the  hotbeds,  and  transfer  in  May 
to  the  open  ground,  where  they  will  begin  to 
bloom  in  a  few  weeks.  The  blossoms  are 
double,  very  sweet,  and  of  good  size.  They 
come  in  almost  all  colors  and  in  many  com- 
binations of  color. 

CELOSIA  CRIST  ATA  PLUMOSA  (Coxcomb).  2 
to  4  feet.  Sow  indoors  in  April  and  transplant 
in  May  to  where  it  will  bloom,  or  sow  out- 
doors in  May.  It  does  not  require  rich  soil. 
Blooms  from  July  until  frost.  A  large,  showy 

262 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

plant,  with  flowers  at  the  end  of  every 
branch.  They  are  a  rich  crimson  and  a  good 
yellow.  In  some  varieties  the  combs  attain 
an  enormous  size.  In  the  Plumosa  the  flower 
is  more  feathery  and  graceful. 

CENTAUREA  CYANUS  (Cornflower;  Ragged 
Sailor;  Bachelor's  Button;  Kaiser  Blume).  3 
to  4  feet.  Sow  in  early  spring  where  it  is  to 
bloom.  Blooms  from  June  until  frost  if  not 
allowed  to  go  to  seed.  This  familiar  flower, 
with  its  beautiful  blue  color,  comes  in  both 
single  and  double  varieties,  and  can  also  be 
had  in  white  and  pink.  After  it  is  once  estab- 
lished it  will  often  seed  itself  and  come  up, 
from  its  own  seeding,  year  after  year. 

C.  IMPERIALIS  (Royal  Sweet  Sultan).  2 
feet.  Sow  the  seed  in  very  early  spring. 
Blooms  the  end  of  July  and  August.  The 
flowers  resemble  delicate,  dainty  thistles,  are 
purple,  lilac,  rose  and  white,  and  are  excel- 
lent for  combination  with  other  flowers  in 
house  decoration. 

COLEUS  (Flame  Nettle).  1  foot.  Sow  the 
263 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

seed  indoors  in  March.    Transplant  in  May 

to   open    ground.     A   favorite   bedding-plant 

with  variegated  leaves. 

COSMOS,     MAMMOTH     PERFECTION,     LADY 

LENOX  and  EXTRA  EARLY.  5  to  10  feet.  Sow 

as  early  as  possible  in  the  open  ground  or 

under  cover. 
Transplant  to 
18  inches  apart. 
Does  better  in 
a  light  soil  and 
should  be 
staked.  Blooms 
from  the  end  of 
July  until  frost. 
This  almost 
shrub-like  plant 
has  a  profusion 
of  daisy-like 
Cosmos  flowers  that  are 

white,  pink,    lavender,   yellow   and    crimson. 

White  Cosmos  is  probably  the  most  beautiful. 

In   localities   where   frost   comes    early,   it   is 

264 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

wiser  to  buy  only  the  early-flowering  varie- 
ties, otherwise  the  plants  will  be  killed  just  as 
they  are  ready  to  bloom. 

DAHLIA,  CACTUS,  DECORATIVE,  GIANT, 
PON-PON,  COLLARETTE,  QUILL,  SINGLE  CEN- 
TURY, SINGLE  and  PEONY-FLOWERED.  2  to  8 
feet.  Plant  the  dormant  roots  in  good,  rich 
soil  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring,  prefer- 
ably in  a  sunny  place.  Set  out  about  three 
feet  apart  and  allow  only  one  shoot  to  grow, 
which  should  be  thoroughly  staked  and  well 
watered.  The  roots  should  be  dried  and 
stored  indoors  in  winter.  They  increase 
greatly.  The  many  varieties  and  wonderful 
colors  of  the  modern  dahlia  make  it  a  totally 
different  flower  from  the  one  our  grandmothers 
knew.  The  names  are  descriptive  of  the  dif- 
erent  varieties,  and  as  there  are  so  many  of 
them,  and  they  bloom  from  early  in  June  or 
July  until  frost,  a  garden  of  dahlias  might  be 
very  interesting.  There  is  great  pleasure  in 
saving  and  planting  one's  own  seed.  The  re- 
sults are  most  instructive  and  often  surprising. 

265 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

DIANTHUS  CHINENSIS  (Annual  Pink).  6  to 
18  inches.  Sow  the  seed  as  early  as  possible 
in  the  spring.  It  begins  to  bloom  a  few  weeks 
from  the  time  of  sowing  and  continues  blos- 
soming profusely  until  frost.  If  slightly  cov- 
ered, it  will  often  survive  the  winter  and 
bloom  again  the  next  spring.  The  flowers, 
single  and  double,  come  in  almost  all  colors 
and  in  many  combinations  of  color.  They 
have  that  delightful  cinnamon  odor,  so  sugges- 
tive of  an  old-time  garden. 

ESCHSCHOLTZIA  (California  Poppy).  6  to 
12  inches.  Sow  the  seed  very  thinly  in  early 
spring  where  it  is  to  grow.  Blooms  all  sum- 
mer. Useful  in  masses,  for  edging  beds,  or 
for  planting  in  the  rock-garden.  The  colors 
are  white,  pink,  yellow,  orange  and  scarlet. 

GLADIOLI.  2  to  3  feet.  The  bulbs  need  a 
good,  rich  soil  and,  preferably,  a  sunny  place. 
They  should  be  staked  when  a  foot  high,  and 
in  winter  must  be  stored  indoors.  By  a  suc- 
cession of  plantings,  beginning  in  early  May, 
continual  bloom  can  be  had  from  July  until 

266 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

frost.  This  most  beautiful  and  satisfactory 
summer-flowering  bulb  should  always  find  a 
place  in  the  garden.  It  is  effective  in  masses, 
or  as  single  plants  in  the  borders  of  rose-  and 
lily-beds.  The  tall  spikes  of  bloom  and  the  iris- 
like  leaves  are  very  decorative.  The  modern 
gladiolus  is  much  like  an  orchid  in  shape  and 
in  the  many  wonderful  colors  in  which  it  is 
produced.  Some  of  the  flowers  are  often 
three  inches  across,  and  no  words  can  describe 
the  marvelous  colors. 

GODETIA.  1  foot.  Sow  the  seed  in  early 
spring  and  transplant  later  to  a  foot  apart. 
Prefers  a  rather  poor  soil  and  partial  shade. 
Blooms  from  July  until  September.  An 
attractive  annual  with  many  delicate  poppy- 
like  flowers  that  are  white,  red  or  pink.  Good 
as  a  border  to  flower-beds. 

GERANIUM  (Pelargonium).  1  to  1%  feet. 
Start  the  dormant  roots,  or  slips,  in  March, 
indoors,  or  plant  them  in  the  open  ground  in 
May.  Blooms  from  June  until  frost.  A 
popular  bedding-out  plant;  good  for  terrace 

267 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER   GARDEN 

or  piazza  decoration.  The  flowers,  single  or 
double,  are  red,  pink  and  white.  The  leaves 
are  round  and  furry,  and,  in  some  cases,  va- 
riegated. Some  varieties  are  fragrant,  such 
as  the  rose  and  lemon  geranium. 

HELIANTHUS  (Sunflower).  3  to  10  feet. 
Sow  the  seeds  in  April  or  May  in  a  sunny 
place.  Blooms  from  July  until  frost.  Another 
old  garden  flower  which  is  a  rich,  glowing  yel- 
low. Some  sunflowers  are  of  great  size,  others, 
and  perhaps  the  most  attractive,  are  quite 
small. 

HELIOTROPE.  1  to  1^2  feet.  Sow  the  seed 
in  the  greenhouse  very  early  in  the  spring, 
or  start  in  greenhouse  from  slips  and  trans- 
plant later  where  it  is  to  bloom.  It  needs  a 
rich  soil  and  plenty  of  sun.  Blooms  from  the 
first  of  July  until  frost,  and  is  a  very  fragrant 
and  beautiful  blue-purple  flower.  In  warm 
climates  it  lives  out-of-doors  all  winter  and 
grows  as  large  as  an  ordinary  shrub.  An 
excellent  bedding-out  plant,  as  it  is  a  mass 
of  rich  color  through  most  of  the  summer. 

268 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

HYACINTHUS  CANDICANS  (Cape  Hyacinth). 
3  to  5  feet.  Plant  the  bulb  in  bed  or  border 
in  early  spring.  Blooms  in  July  and  August. 
A  beautiful  white  summer-flowering  bulb, 
with  tall  spikes  of  drooping  hyacinth-like 
flowers.  Quite  invaluable.  The  bulbs  are 
hardy  and  should  remain  in  the  ground  in 
winter. 

ISMENE  CALATHINA  (Peruvian  Daffodil). 
lj/2  to  2  feet.  Plant  the  bulbs  in  the  open 
beds  in  spring.  Blooms  in  August.  A  little- 
known,  but  beautiful  summer-blooming  bulb. 
It  has  great,  queer,  white,  lily-shaped  flowers; 
very  interesting  and  attractive.  The  bulbs 
should  be  stored  in  winter. 

KOCHIA  (Standing  Cypress).  1  to  3  feet. 
Sow  the  seed  in  spring  and  transplant  into 
rows  about  a  foot  apart.  A  pyramidal-shaped 
plant  with  fine,  feathery  foliage  that  in  sum- 
mer is  a  light,  delicate  green;  later  the  whole 
plant  becomes  a  brilliant  red.  Very  good  for 
a  little  hedge  around  the  seed-bed  or  the 
vegetable  garden. 

269 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

MARIGOLD,  AFRICAN  and  FRENCH.  2  to  4 
feet.  Sow  the  seed  in  early  spring  and  trans- 
plant, when  four  inches  high,  to  where  it  will 
bloom.  Blooms  from  August  until  frost.  A 
most  decorative  annual,  with  its  handsome 
cut  leaf  and  its  many  large  ball-  or  daisy- 
shaped  flowers,  that  are  either  a  rich  lemon- 
yellow  or  a  deep  orange.  No  flower  is  easier 
to  grow,  but,  as  it  has  a  very  pungent  odor, 
many  do  not  care  for  it  near  the  house  or 
for  indoor  decoration. 

MIGNONETTE  (Reseda).  6  to  12  inches.  Sow 
the  seed  in  early  spring  and  again  in  July. 
Blooms  by  such  successive  sowing  from  June 
until  frost.  It  needs  a  rich  soil.  An  old- 
fashioned  garden  never  seems  quite  com- 
plete without  this  fragrant  flower  of  our 
grandmother's  time.  The  spikes  of  delicate 
green  and  white  bloom  combine  well  with 
other  flowers.  It  is  not  difficult  to  grow. 

MYOSOTIS  (Forget-me-not).  6  to  12  inches. 
Sow  the  seed  where  it  is  to  bloom.  Blooms 
in  June.  Is  perennial  in  some  localities  if 

270 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 


covered  in  the  winter.  It  thrives  in  moist, 
shady  places.  The  popular  flower  of  song 
and  story,  with  silvery  green  leaves  and  little 
blue,  star-like  flowers. 

NASTURTIUM,  DWARF  and  CLIMBING 
VARIETIES.  Sow  the  seed  where  it  is  to  bloom 
-preferably  a 
sunny  place. 
Blooms  from 
July  until  frost. 
The  blossoms 
come  in  almost 
all  colors,  plain 
and  variegated, 
are  very  delicate 
and  suggest  a 
fairy's  peaked 
cap.  The  light 
green  leaves  are 
nearly  round 
and  very  pret- 
tily veined.  It 

thrives        almost  Nasturtium 

271 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

anywhere  and  responds  to  the  slightest  care. 
In  fact,  no  other  annual  is  so  very  easy  to 
grow. 

NICOTIANA  AFFINIS  and  SANDERS  HY- 
BRIDS (Tuberose-flowered  Tobacco).  2  to  3 
feet.  Sow  seeds  in  early  spring.  Blooms  from 
July  until  frost.  The  sweet-scented  white 
flowers  of  these  fall  annuals  are  very  attrac- 
tive against  a  dark  background  of  shrubs. 

NIGELLA  (Love-in-a-Mist).  1  foot.  Sow- 
seeds  in  early  spring.  A  free-blooming  annual. 
The  curious-looking  flowers  are  blue  and 
white. 

(EXOTHERA  (Evening  Primrose).  3  feet. 
Sow  the  seed  in  spring  and  transplant  to  a 
sunny  place.  Blooms  in  July  and  August. 
The  large  yellow,  white  and  pink  flowers  re- 
main closed  during  the  day,  opening  wide 
after  sundown. 

PANSY.  6  to  12  inches.  Sow  the  seed  in 
drills.  Cover  very  lightly  with  rich  soil. 
Transplant  to  a  sunny  place,  8  inches  apart. 
Seed  can  be  sown  in  August,  transplanted  in 

272 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND •*  BULBS 

September  and  kept  covered  all  winter.  The 
August-sown  seed  will  bloom  the  middle  of 
the  following  May,  and  seed  sown  in  April 
will  bloom  the  end  of  June.  This  familiar 
flower  is  good  for  borders,  around  flower- 
beds, or  as  a  carpet  with  tall-growing  plants. 
There  are  many  varieties. 

PETUNIA,  DOUBLE  LARGE-FLOWERING, 
SINGLE  LARGE-FLOWERING,  SINGLE  BED- 
DING and  ROSY  MORN.  1  to  1J^  feet.  The 
seed  should  be  sown  indoors  and  transplanted 
to  the  open  ground  in  May.  Blooms  from 
June.  Wholly  unlike  the  old-fashioned  petunia. 
The  flowers  are  of  great  size,  single  or  double. 
Many  varieties  are  fringed,  and  come  in  the 
most  beautiful  colors.  It  is  a  revelation  to 
see  what  the  hybridizer  has  done  with  a  plain, 
old-fashioned,  and  rather  unpopular,  flower. 

PHLOX  DRUMMONDII.  6  to  12  inches.  Sow 
seed  in  the  open  ground  as  soon  as  all  danger 
of  frost  is  past.  Transplant  later  to  where  they 
are  to  bloom.  Blooms  continuously  from  a 
few  weeks  after  the  seed  is  sown  until  frost. 

273 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 

Really  a  dwarf  annual  phlox.  Color,  white, 
pink,  lilac,  scarlet  and  crimson.  Effective  as 
an  edging  for  beds  or  a  carpet  under  taller- 
growing  plants. 

PAPAVER,  SINGLE  ANNUAL  and  DOUBLE 
ANNUAL  (Poppy).  8  inches  to  2  feet.  Sow 
the  seed  in  early  spring  and  thin  out  the 
plants  to  from  3  to  4  inches  apart.  Blooms  in 
July.  A  bed  of  annual  poppies  in  full  bloom 
is  most  effective  in  the  garden.  The  large 
and  small,  single  and  double  flowers  come 
in  many  exquisite  colors,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
decide  which  are  most  beautiful — the  great, 
ragged,  double  ones  or  the  delicate  single 
flowers  with  their  large  centers. 

PORTULACA  (Sunplant).  6  inches.  Sow 
the  seed  where  it  is  to  grow.  Blooms  all  sum- 
mer. A  very  healthy,  easily -grown  annual 
that  loves  a  sunny  place.  Profusely  covered 
with  red,  yellow,  white,  pink  or  variegated 
flowers.  Good  to  plant  in  the  rock-garden. 

RICHARDIA  (Calla).  2  to  3  feet.  Plant  the 
bulb  in  May  in  the  open  border  or  bed. 

274 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

Should  be  staked.  Blooms  in  August.  Fa- 
miliar as  a  greenhouse  plant  but  not  usually 
seen  in  gardens.  It  is,  however,  very  attrac- 
tive, and  when  used,  like  gladiolus  and  tube- 
roses, among  roses,  or  in  the  lily  beds,  will 
be  found  satisfactory.  The  bulbs  should  be 
stored  in  winter. 

RICINUS  (Castor-Oil  Bean).  8  feet.  Sow 
seed  early  in  the  spring.  Great  ornamental 
plants  with  large  reddish  green  leaves  and 
red  fruit.  Decorative  in  shrubberies  or  against 
buildings. 

SALPIGLOSSIS  (Painted  Tongue).  1^/2  to  2 
feet.  Sow  seed  in  hotbed  and  transplant  to 
the  open  ground  in  May.  Blooms  from  July 
until  frost.  The  flowers  of  this  annual  are 
delicate,  attractive  and  suggestive  of  an 
orchid.  They  come  in  various  colors — purple 
and  gold,  rose  and  gold,  scarlet  and  gold, 
white  and  gold.  The  petals  of  the  flowers 
are  one  color  and  the  deep  veining  another. 

SALVIA,  BONFIRE  (Scarlet  Sage).  3  feet. 
Sow  in  the  hotbed  in  February.  Transplant 

275 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

in  May  to  where  it  is  to  bloom.  Blooms  from 
middle  of  July  until  frost.  Sometimes  con- 
sidered a  perennial,  but  will  not  survive 
the  winter  in  our  northern  climate.  A  very 
beautiful  and  popular  bright  red  flower  that 
looks  equally  well  in  masses  or  as  a  single 
plant  in  a  red  border. 

S.  PATENS  (Blue  Sage  or  Salvia).  2  to  2J/2 
feet.  Sow  in  the  hotbed  in  the  early  spring 
and  transplant  to  where  it  is  to  bloom.  Blooms 
from  July.  No  other  flower  in  the  garden 
is  of  quite  the  same  rich,  brilliant  blue; 
is  somewhat  the  shape  of  the  red  salvia 
blossom,  and  grows  around  a  spike  about  five 
inches  long.  Unlike  the  delphinium,  in 
which  the  whole  spike  blooms  at  once,  only  a 
few  scattered  flowers  blossom  at  a  time; 
is  nevertheless  an  attractive  plant.  Some- 
times considered  hardy,  but  will  not  sur- 
vive very  cold  winters  and  should  always  be 
protected  in  winter. 

SCHIZANTHUS  (Butterfly  Flower).  2  feet. 
Sow  the  seed  in  early  spring  in  a  sheltered 

276 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

corner.  Blooms  a  few  weeks  from  the  time  of 
sowing.  One  of  the  most  dainty  and  delicate 
of  all  garden  flowers.  When  in  bloom,  the 
whole  plant  is  one  mass  of  blossoms,  orchid- 
like  in  shape  and  of  many  beautiful  colors. 
It  can  never  fail  to  please  even  the  most 
difficult  gardener. 

STOCK  (Gilliflower).  2  feet.  Sow  the  seed 
in  the  hotbed  for  early  blooming  or  in  the 
open  ground  in  May  for  later  flowering. 
Blooms  from  July.  One  of  the  most  beautiful 
annuals  and  should  never  be  omitted  from 
the  garden.  It  is  another  of  the  old-time 
flowers  that  have  come  down  from  our  grand- 
mothers' days.  It  has  a  delicate  fragrance 
and  the  richness  of  the  colors  is  always  a 
delight  to  the  eye.  The  deep  yellow,  deep 
red,  deep  purple,  orange  and  browns  are  very 
fine.  But  the  white  and  delicate  shell -pink 
are  perhaps  the  most  satisfying. 

SWEET  PEAS.  4  feet.  Sow  the  seed  as  early 
as  possible  in  rich,  loamy  soil — preferably  in 
a  trench.  Cover  the  seeds  very  lightly  with 

277 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 


earth,  hilling  up  as  the  plants  grow, 
and  thin  the  plants  out  to  2  inches  apart. 
Must  be  kept  well  watered  or  the  plants 
will  shrivel  and  stop  blossoming;  all  dead 
flowers  and  seed-pods  should  be  kept  cut 
for  the  same  reason.  Sweet  peas  should  be 
staked  with  brush,  or,  better  still,  chicken- 
wire  can  be  stretched  for  them  to  climb  on, 
and  is  more  tidy  looking.  Do  not  plant  sweet 
peas  in  the  same  place  too  many  years  in 

succession.  Begin 
to  bloom  the  end 
of  June  and  con- 
tinue indefinitely. 
No  more  beauti- 
ful and  satisfac- 
tory flower  for 
indoor  decora- 
tion. As  they  are 
better  for  that 
purpose  when 
separated  as  to 

Sweet  Peas  color,     the    wise 

278 


.     SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS   AND   BULBS 

gardener  will  not  buy  mixed  seeds  but  will 
buy  and  plant  each  variety  by  itself,  and 
avoid  the  tiresome  task  of  sorting  the  flowers 
according  to  color  before  putting  them  into 
vases.  They  come  in  every  possible  color  and 
variation  of  color.  But  the  white,  rose  and 
deep  pink,  lavender,  deep  maroon  and  deep 
purple  will  be  found  very  beautiful. 

TUBEROSE.  2  to  3  feet.  Plant  in  the  open 
border  in  May.  Blooms  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember. The  bulb  bears  a  very  fragrant  stalk 
of  white  bloom.  It  can  be  used  in  the  same 
way  as  gladioli,  callas  or  other  tall-growing 
summer  bulbs  and,  like  them,  should  be 
staked  and  the  bulb  stored  indoors  in  winter. 

VERBENA.  1  to  1J/2  feet.  Sow  the  seed  in 
the  hotbed  and  transplant  to  where  it  is  to 
bloom  in  May.  Blooms  from  early  in  June. 
The  modern  grower  has  so  perfected  this 
familiar  flower,  in  its  size  and  many  beautiful 
colors,  that  it  can  hardly  be  recognized.  The 
pale  pink  verbena  is  the  most  pleasing  variety 
and  is  frequently  used  for  bedding. 

279 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

XERANTHEMUM  (Everlasting,  or  Immor- 
telle). 3  feet.  Sow  in  May  in  the  open  ground. 
Blooms  from  July  until  frost.  Bears  a  quan- 
tity of  white,  pink,  purple  and  red  blossoms. 

ZINNIA.  2  feet.  Sow  early  in  the  hotbeds, 
or  in  May,  in  the  open  ground.  Blooms  from 
July.  One  of  the  healthiest  and  most  bril- 
liant annuals,  and  useful  to  fill  out  the  bor- 
ders and  give  them  color  in  late  summer. 
The  colors  are  white,  scarlet,  yellow,  orange 
and  salmon-pink.  The  latter  is  perhaps  the 
most  desirable  shade  because,  after  July,  there 
are  so  few  light-colored  flowers  in  the  garden. 

HARDY   VINES 

AMPELOPSIS  Lown.  Plant  in  the  spring. 
A  vine  of  the  same  characteristics  as  Ampe- 
lopsis  Veitchi,  but  the  foliage  is  smaller  and 
deeper  cut,  giving  to  the  vine  a  greater  air  of 
delicacy. 

A.  QUINQUEFOLIA  (Virginia  Creeper,  or 
American  Ivy).  Plant  in  the  spring,  or 
transplant  from  the  wild.  The  familiar  five- 
'  280 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

leaved  vine  that  grows  on  all  roadside  fences 
and  walls.  It  has  clusters  of  small  purple 
berries  in  the  fall  and  is  very  hardy.  It  must 
be  trained,  for,  unlike  Ampelopsis  Veitchi,  it 
does  not  cling  sufficiently.  Good  on  w^ooden 
houses,  walls  and  rustic  work. 

A.  VEITCHI  (Japan,  or  Boston  Ivy).  Plant 
in  the  spring.  Very  satisfactory  against  wood 
or  stone,  for  it  clings  closely  with  its  many 
tiny  feet. 

BlGNONIA       GRANDIFLORA       (Trumpet 

Creeper).  Plant  in  the  spring.  Blooms  from 
July.  A  perfectly  hardy  vine  of  rapid  ^growth. 
It  has  clusters  of  large,  orange-red,  trumpet- 
shaped  flowers,  and  its  dense  foliage  makes 
it  an  excellent  screen. 

CELASTRUS  SCANDENS  (Bittersweet). 
Plant  in  the  spring,  or  transplant  from  fields 
or  woods.  The  well-known  wild  vine  with 
clusters  of  sweet  white  flowers  in  the  spring 
and,  in  the  fall,  beautiful  orange  -  colored 
berries  that,  after  frost,  burst  their  outer 
orange  coat,  revealing  the  scarlet  fruit. 

281 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER    GARDEN 


CLEMATIS  HENDERSONI,  HENRYI  and  JACK- 
MANI.  Plant  in  the  spring.  Blooms  in  July. 
A  most  beautiful  vine  of  slow  growth.  It  has 

large  star-shaped  flow- 
ers, white,  as  in  Henryi, 
or  a  deep  purple,  as  in 
Jackmani.  Other  varie- 
ties are  lavender,  rose 
and  carmine. 

C.      PANICULATA, 

FLAMMULA  and  VIR- 
GINIANA  (Japanese 
Virgin's  Bower).  Plant 
in  the  spring,  or  trans- 
plant the  common  Vir- 
giniana  from  the  fields 
and  woods.  Blooms  in 
Clematis  Jackmani  August  and  September. 

A  very  hardy,  quick-growing,  most  satisfac- 
tory vine  which,  in  blooming  time,  is  a  solid 
mass  of  small  white  flowers. 

DOLICHOS  JAPONICUS  (Kudzu  Vine).  Plant 
in  the  spring.  Blooms  in  August.  It  has 

282 


SHRUBS,   VINES,  PLANTS   AND   fcULBS 

racemes  of  purplish  pink,  pea-like  blossoms. 
Is  the  most  rapid-growing  vine  in  cultivation, 
often  growing  30  feet  in  a  year. 

EUONYMUS  RADICANS.  Evergreen.  Plant  in 
the  spring.  A  very  hardy,  slow-growing  vine 
with  small,  smooth,  regular  leaves,  either  dark 
green  or  variegated  green  and  white.  It  clings 
closely  to  stone,  wood  and  the  bark  of  trees. 

HEDERA  HELIX  (English  Ivy).  Evergreen. 
Plant  in  the  spring.  The  familiar  vine  with 
irregular  leaves.  Excellent  for  planting  around 
stone  houses  or  as  a  border  around  flower- 
beds, fountains  or  terraces.  Not  hardy  north 
of  central  New  Jersey  unless  covered  in  winter. 

HUMULUS  (Hop  Vine).  Plant  in  the  spring. 
Blooms  in  June  and  July.  Of  rapid  growth 
and  quite  hardy.  Very  useful  as  a  screen. 
The  racemes  of  pale  green,  odd-looking  flowers 
are  followed  by  seed-pods  which  can  be  put 
to  many  uses. 

LONICERA  (Honeysuckle).  Plant  in  the 
spring.  Blooms  all  summer.  A  familiar  vine 
with  white,  yellow,  pink  or  variegated  flowers, 

283 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER    GARDEN 

and,  in  some  varieties,  variegated  leaves.  Very 
fragrant,  absolutely  hardy,  and  a  good  grower. 

POLYGONUM  MULTIFLORUM.  Plant  in  the 
spring.  Blooms  in  September  and  October. 
The  flowers  are  tiny  and  white  and  cover  the 
vine  in  great  trusses  of  bloom.  The  leaves  are 
large  and  heart-shaped.  It  is  a  strong,  quick 
grower.  Quite  a  new  vine. 

VITIS  LABRUSCA  and  V.  RIPARIA  (Fox 
Grape;  Frost  Grape).  Plant  in  the  spring, 
or  transplant  from  the  wild.  Blooms  in 
June.  The  tiny  fragrant  flowers  become,  in 
the  fall,  clusters  of  small,  dark  blue,  rather 
bitter  grapes.  The  large  leaves  make  it  a 
very  ornamental  vine.  It  is  absolutely  hardy. 

WISTARIA  SINENSIS  and  W.  SINENSIS  ALBA 
(Chinese  Wistaria).  Plant  in  the  spring. 
Blooms  in  May  and  June.  When  in  full 
bloom  there  is  no  more  beautiful  vine.  The 
huge  pendent  racemes  of  purple  or  white 
flowers  so  cover  the  entire  plant  that  it  is 
a  wonderful,  solid  mass  of  color.  It  is  very 
slow  in  starting  but  lives  to  a  great  age. 

284 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

CLIMBING    ROSES 

RAMBLER  ROSE,  CRIMSON,  LADY  GAY,  YEL- 
LOW, WHITE  and  PINK  DOROTHY  PERKINS. 
Plant  in  the  spring,  or  by  October  15th. 
Blooms  end  of  June  and  July.  No  more 
beautiful  hardy  flowering  vine.  In  blooming 
time  the  huge  clusters  of  small  roses — either 
crimson,  cerise-pink,  soft  shell-pink,  white  or 
yellow — are  a  joy  to  behold.  They,  and  all 
other  climbing  roses,  must  be  trained  and 
tied,  for  they  do  not  cling. 

PRAIRIE  QUEEN.  Plant  in  early  spring  or 
by  October  15th.  Blooms  in  July.  Very 
hardy.  Blossoms  of  a  deep  rose  color. 

BALTIMORE  BELLE.  Plant  in  the  spring,  or 
in  fall  not  later  than  October  15th.  Blooms 
in  June.  The  blush-pink  blossoms  of  this 
rose  grow  in  clusters  as  in  the  Ramblers. 

ANNUAL    VINES 

COB^EA  SCANDENS  (Cup-and-Saucer  Vine). 
Sow  the  seed  edgewise  in  the  spring  and  just 

285 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

cover  with  soil.  Blooms  all  summer.  A  very 
quick  grower  which  easily  clings  to  any 
rough  surface,  such  as  trunks  of  trees  and 
trellises.  The  bell-shaped  flowers  are  purple 
or  white. 

CONVOLVULUS  (Morning  Glory) .  Sow  in  the 
early  spring.  Soak  the  seeds  in  warm  water 
over  night  before  sowing.  Blooms  almost  all 
summer;  the  familiar,  wide-mouthed,  trumpet 
flowers  of  many  beautiful  colors  and  of  both 
single  and  double  varieties. 

ECHINOCYSTIS  (Wild  Cucumber  Vine).   Sow 
seed    in    early    spring.     Blooms    all    summer. 
One  of  the  quickest-growing  annual  vines,— 
sometimes  25  feet  in  a  summer.    It  has  small 
yellow-white  flowers. 

IPOMCEA  GRANDIFLORA  (Moonflower).  (Jap- 
anese Morning  Glory.)  Sow  the  seed  in 
spring  after  the  weather  is  settled;  they 
should  be  soaked  in  warm  water  over  night. 
Blooms  all  summer.  It  has  very  beautiful 
flowers,  surpassing  all  other  morning  glories. 
Besides  being  a  rapid  grower,  it  is  easy  to 

286 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND   BULBS 

cultivate.  The  white,  fragrant  flowers  of  the 
moonflower  are  five  to  six  inches  in  diameter 
and  appear  at  night  and  on  dull  days. 

ORNAMENTAL  GOURD.  Sow  the  seed  early  in 
spring.  Blooms  through  July  and  August, 
and  then  bears  the  many-shaped  fruits  from 
which  the  vine  gets  its  name.  This  vine 
has  been  known  to  grow  as  much  as  a  foot 
in  a  day. 

SPRING-FLOWERING    BULBS 

CONVALLARIA  MAJALIS  (Lily -of -the- Valley) . 
8  inches.  Plant  in  the  fall,  in  clumps,  in  the 
sun,  in  shady  places,  along  streams  or  in 
wooded  corners.  It  increases  tremendously. 
Blooms  in  May  and  June.  A  very  popular 
spring-  flowering 
bulb  which  is 
exceed  i  ngly 
healthy  and 
hardy.  The  deli- 
cate, white,  bell- 
like  flowers  are  Crocus 

287 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 


most  fragrant,  and  the  broad,  smooth,  green 
leaves   decorative. 

CROCUS.  4  to  5  inches.  Plant  in  the  fall,  two 
inches  apart,  three  inches  deep,  in  good,  rich 
ground.  It  should  not  be  disturbed  for  sev- 
eral years;  therefore  it  is  often  a  good  plan  to 
plant  it  in  the  grass.  Blooms  the  end  of 
March  and  first  of  April,  in  many  colors- 
white,  yellow,  purple,  and  some  varieties  are 
striped.  A  very  popular  bulb. 

ERYTHRON- 
IUM.  (Dog's 
Tooth  Violet.) 
4  inches.  Plant 
in  the  fall  in 
any  light  soil. 
Blooms  in  April. 
These  pretty 
yellow  violets 
can  be  planted 
in  groups  in 
rockeries  or  in 

Narcissus,  Emperor  any    sheltered 

288 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND  'BULBS 

place.  Very  satisfactory  in  the  borders  of 
shrubbery. 

FRITILLARIA  IMPERIALIS  (Crown  Imperial). 
2  feet.  Plant  in  the  fall.  Thrives  in  a  rich, 
well-drained  soil.  Blooms  in  April  or  May.  A 
tall-growing  plant  with  dark  green  leaves  and 
large,  effective  flowers  in  all  the  shades  of. 
red  and  yellow. 

GALANTHUS  NIVALIS  (Snowdrop).  6  inches. 
Plant  in  the  fall,  2  to  3  inches  deep,  in  a  shady 
place.  Blooms  very  early  in  the  spring,  often 
before  the  snow  is  off  the  ground.  The  single 
varieties  bloom  first;  the  double  varieties  later. 

HYACINTH.  1  foot.  Plant  in  October  in  a 
light  soil  and  a  sunny  place.  If  the  soil  is 
heavy,  some  sand  will  be  useful,  and  if  other 
plants  have  been  in  the  bed  all  summer,  some 
well-rotted  manure  should  be  used.  Plant 
the  bulbs  six  inches  deep  to  the  bottom  of  the 
bulb,  and  six  to  seven  inches  apart.  The 
bulbs  must  be  planted  evenly  or  they  will  not 
bloom  at  the  same  time.  It  is  well  to  plant 
each  bulb  in  a  handful  of  sand,  to  insure 

289 


THE    PRACTICAL    FLOWER    GARDEN 


good  drainage.  A  slight  covering  after  the 
ground  is  frozen  is  beneficial.  Blooms  in  May. 
One  of  the  most  popular  of  the  spring-flower- 
ing bulbs.  It  is  very  fragrant  and  comes  in 
many  colors — blue,  white,  red,  crimson,  pink, 
lilac,  mauve,  yellow  and  orange.  There  are  also 
both  single  and  double  varieties,  but  the  single 
flowers  are  more  graceful  and  often  healthier. 
JONQUIL.  1  foot.  Plant  in  the  fall.  Treat 
in  the  same  way  as  hyacinths.  Blooms  the 

end  of  April  and 
May.  A  plant 
related  to  the 
narcissus.  The 
clusters  of  deli- 
cate yellow  flow- 
er s  are  most 
attractive. 

M   U   8   C  A  R  I 

(Grape,  Nutmeg 
or  Feathered  Hya- 
cinth) .  1  foot. 

Narcissus,  Sulphur  Phoenix  .     .        ,,         „    ,, 

See  page  291  -Plant  in  the  fall, 

290 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

either  in  beds  or  boxes.  Will  thrive  in  any  soil 
and  needs  little  care.  Can  be  naturalized  in 
the  grass.  Blooms  in  May.  The  delicate, 
pretty  flowers  are  most  attractive.  This  will 
be  found  a  gen- 
erally  useful 
bulb. 

NARCISSUS, 
SULPHUR  PHCE- 
NIX,  VON  SION, 
ORNATUS,  POET- 
icus,  EMPEROR, 
EMPRESS  and 
GOLDEN  SPUR. 
1  to  \Y2  feet. 
Plant  in  the  fall 
in  rows  in  beds 

Or    in    the    grass.  Narcissus,  Von  Sion 

Will  thrive  in  almost  any  soil  or  place.  In- 
creases, and  should  not  be  disturbed  for  years. 
It  seems  to  prefer  a  good  soil  and  a  partially 
shaded  place.  Blooms  in  April  and  May. 
No  flowers  are  more  graceful  and  attractive. 

291 


THE    PRACTICAL   FLOWER    GARDEN 

Their    charm  is  known  to  all,  and  the  poetry 
of   all   ages    has    sung    their   beauty.     There 


Narcissus  Ornatus 

292 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

are  single  and  double  narcissi  and  daffo- 
dils, and  there  are  white,  yellow  and  the 
shades  of  yellow,  or  yellow  and  white.  There 
is  also  a  double  white  narcissus,  which  is 
particularly  lovely.  All  these  can  be  grown 
in  the  grass,  in  the  wild  garden,  among 
shrubs  and  trees,  or  in  wooded  corners. 

SCILLA.  8  inches. 
Plant  in  the  fall. 
Almost  all  varie- 
ties are  quite 
hardy  and  may 
remain  untouched 
in  the  ground  for 
years.  Blooms  in 
April.  Some  scillas 
are  white  and 
rose,  but  the 
familiar  variety 
is  a  deep,  rich 
blue,  which  makes 
a  beautiful  con- 
trast with  the  Narcissus  Poeticus.  See  page  291 


THE  PRACTICAL  FLOWER  GARDEN 

snowdrop  and  the  crocus  that  bloom  at  the 
same  time. 

TULIP,  MURILLO,  PlCOTEE,  ISABELLA,  BoU- 

TON    D'OR,    YELLOW     ROSE,    POTTEBAKKER 

WHITE,  POT- 
TEBAKKER SCAR- 
LET, and  GES- 
NERIANA,  and  an 
infinite  variety. 
Plant  in  the  fall. 
They  should  be 
planted  in  the 
same  way  as 
hyacinths,  except 
that,  as  the 
bulbs  are  smaller, 

Tulip,  Picotee  ft     Jg     not     neces- 

sary  to  plant  them  so  deep.  The  bulbs  should 
be  underground,  four  inches  to  the  bottom 
of  the  bulb,  and  from  five  to  six  inches  apart. 
A  little  sand  around  each  bulb  is  often  advis- 
able. Blooms  from  the  middle  of  April  to 
the  end  of  May,  according  to  the  variety. 

294 


SHRUBS,  VINES,  PLANTS    AND    BULBS 

One  of  the  most  satisfactory  and  beautiful  of 
the  spring-flowering  bulbs.  It  increases  con- 
siderably and  is  very  healthy,  whereas  the 
hyacinth  in  time  dies  out.  Tulips  come  in 
many  colors  and  there  are  both  single  and 
double,  early  and  late-flowering  varieties,  also 
the  wonderful  parrot  tulips  which  have 
feathered  edges  and  combine  green  with  other 
colors. 


295 


INDEX 


Ageratum,  combined  for  color 
effect  with  crimson  snap- 
dragons, 24;  combined  with 
sweet  alyssum,  33-34;  with 
Snowstorm  petunia,  34,  rais- 
ing of  from  seed,  90-91. 

Almond,  pink  double-flowering, 
combination  of  tulips  and,  for 
color  arrangement,  11. 

Amaranthus  Abyssinicus,  or 
lady's  riding  whip,  87. 

Anchusa  Italica,  raising  of,  from 
seed,  81-82. 

Annuals,  description  of  various 
kinds  of,  and  methods  of 
raising  from  seed,  86-92. 

Apple  trees,  wild,  used  in  a  wild 
garden,  183-184,  186. 

Arborvitae,  American,  sheared 
plants  of,  for  evergreen  ex- 
terior decoration,  62;  desir- 
ability of  clipping,  63;  as  a 
decoration  for  terraces,  159- 
160. 

Ash  trees,  raising  of,  108-109. 

Asparagus,  successful  fertiliza- 
tion of,  134-135. 

Aster  beetle,  remedy  for,  142. 

Asters,  transplanting  of,  22-23; 
fertilization  of,  128. 

Azalea  mollis,  combination  of, 
with  tulips  and  daphne,  11. 


Barron,  Leonard,  expert  on  lawns, 
49. 

Bay  trees,  soot  as  a  fertilizer  for, 
121;  used  for  terraces,  157-158; 
attention  required  by,  after 
being  in  winter  quarters,  158. 

Beach  grass  for  sea-side  lawns,  49 

Beech  trees,  time  for  setting  out, 
10. 

Birds,  wild  gardens  a  home  for, 
184. 

Black  walnut  trees,  raising  of, 
106-108. 

Blue  border,  the,  18-19. 

Bocconia  cordata,  in  white  border. 
16. 

Bogs  as  natural  nurseries  for 
plants  and  shrubs,  174. 

Bon  Arbor,  as  a  fertilizer,  121, 
126-127;  to  be  supplemented 
with  water  in  case  of  dahlias, 
127;  used  for  verbenas,  helio- 
trope, stocks,  and  asters,  128. 

Bone  meal,  for  grass,  45-46; 
value  as  a  fertilizer  for  plants, 
121. 

Borders  of  herbaceous  plants, 
13  ff.;  the  white  border,  16- 
17;  the  pink,  17-18;  the  blue, 
18-19;  the  red,  19-20;  the 
yellow  and  orange,  23-24;  of 
white  cosmos,  pink  and  white 


297 


INDEX 


Japanese  anemones,  and  pink 
and  white  asters,  30-31; 
account  of  author's  treatment 
of  an  herbaceous,  132-133; 
border  of  hardy  ivy,  159. 

Box  edging,  protection  of,  59;  re- 
planting of,  00;  increasing  by 
taking  off  clippings,  GO;  neces- 
sity of  keeping  down,  espec- 
ially in  cities,  61-62. 

Box  trees,  soot  as  a  fertilizer  for, 
121;  for  terraces,  157-158,  160; 
care  of,  after  being  in  winter 
quarters,  158. 

Bulbs,  planting  of,  in  autumn, 
for  borders,  31-32. 

Butterfly-flower,  89;  for  adorn- 
ment of  terraces,  155-156. 

Calla  lily,  growing  and  fertiliza- 
tion of,  125-126. 

Campanula  pyramidalis,  for  dec- 
oration of  terraces,  156;  at  St. 
Anne  de  Beaupre,  156-157. 

Campanulas,  fertilization  of,  128- 
129. 

Canterbury  bell,  fertilization  of, 
128-129;  for  decoration  of 
terraces,  157. 

Carnations,  Marguerite,  raising 
from  seed,  82-83. 

Catalogues,  remarks  on  seeds- 
mens,  5-6. 

Catalpa  speciosa,  a  tree  suitable 
for  raising,  110. 

Cedar  trees,  transplanting  of, 
57-58;  improvement  of,  in 
formal  gardens,  by  clipping, 
63-64;  as  a  decoration  for 
terraces,  159-160;  in  the  wild 
garden,  167. 


Cedar  walk,  the  author's,  52-55. 
Celosia,    suited    for    pot    culture 

and    adornment    of    terraces, 

156. 
Clipping,  of  box  edging,  61-62; 

of  evergreens,  63-64. 
Close  planting,  advantages  of,  8. 
Coal  ashes  used  for  protection  of 

flowers,  79,  80. 
Cockscomb     (Celosia     plumosa), 

25-26. 
Coldframes,  construction  of,  92- 

93. 
Color-planting,    in    borders,    15- 

21;  some  suggestions  for,  33- 

35. 
Columbines,    combination   of, 

with  white  lilacs,  10-11. 
Combinations     of     flowers     and 

shrubs  in  planting,  10-35. 
Concrete,    use   of,    in   coldframe 

and  hotbed  construction,  92- 

93. 
Conifers,   raising  of,   from  seed, 

100-106. 
Connecticut   Garden,    the,    177- 

192. 

Cosmos,  in  borders,  30-31. 
Cottonseed  meal  for  grass,  44- 

45,  46. 

Cow  manure  as  a  fertilizer,  120. 
Crab    apples,    pink-flowered, 

planting  of,  10. 
Crab  grass,  destruction  of,  47. 
Creeping  bent  for  lawns,  49. 
Crimson  rambler  roses,  30. 

Daffodils,  planting  of,  10. 
Dahlias,  raising  of,  from  seed,  91; 

fertilizing,  121,  126-127. 
Dandelions,  rooting  out,  47. 


298 


INDEX 


Daphne,  combination  of  Deutzia 
rosea  with,  11. 

Delphinium,  varieties  of,  and 
raising  from  seed,  74-76.  See 
also,  Larkspur. 

Deutzia  rosea,  color  combina- 
tions with,  11. 

Diseases  of  plants,  and  remedies: 
larkspur  blight,  136-137;  mil- 
dew, 137-139;  rose  bugs,  140- 
141;  thrip,  141;  rose  cater- 
pillar, 141;  aster  beetle,  141- 
142. 

English  ivy  for  formal  decora- 
tion, 159. 

Evergreens,  desirability  of  grow- 
ing, 62-63:  clipping  of,  63-64; 
difficulties  experienced  in 
growing,  64-65. 

Fertilizers,  119  ff. :  cow  manure, 
120;  ground  bone  meal,  121; 
poudrette,  121,  124;  soot,  121, 
133;  Bon  Arbor,  121-122, 
126-128;  sheep  manure,  122, 
129;  nitrate  of  soda,  122-123; 
humus,  131. 

Fertilizing  plants  in  spring,  9. 

Fescue,  fine-leaved,  for  lawns, 
49. 

Flowers,  color  arrangements  of, 
3  ff.;  raising  from  seed,  71  ff. 

Foxgloves,  fertilization  of,  129. 

Fuchsias,  for  terraces  and  veran- 
das, 155. 

Garden    Club    of    Philadelphia, 

mentioned,  139-140. 
Garden  escapes,  171,  186. 
Gladioli,  planting  of,  21-22. 


Gloxinias,  for  terraces  and  veran- 
das, 155. 

Godetia,  26. 

Grass,  care  of,  41  ff.;  frequent 
rolling  of.  44 ;  cottonseed  meal 
for,  44-45;  ground  bone  meal 
and  wood  ashes  for,  45-46; 
other  tonics,  46;  removing 
crab  grass,  orchard  grass, 
weeds,  and  dandelions  from, 
47-48;  Kentucky  blue,  the 
finest  for  lawns,  48;  mixture 
of  Kentucky  blue,  red  top  and 
Rhode  Island  bent,  48-49; 
wood  meadow,  for  use  in 
shady  places,  49;  directions 
about  mowing,  50. 

Grass  paths,  50;  seasons  for 
making,  51;  description  of 
author's  cedar  walk,  52-54. 

Grass  terraces,  160-161. 

Gray  Glen,  the,  in  the  Connec- 
ticut Garden,  187-188. 

Hardy    Asters,     description    of, 

and   method  of  raising  from 

seed,  80-81. 
Hardy  ivy,  border  of,  for  terrace, 

159. 

Hedges  of  white  pine,  106. 
Heliotrope,     raising    of,     90-9 1 ; 

fertilizing    with    Bon    Arbor, 

121,  128. 
Hemlock  glen,  description  of  a, 

189-190. 
Hemlocks,     raising    from    seed, 

100-106. 
Hen  manure  as  tonic  for  grass, 

46. 
Herbaceous    plants,    cultivation 

of,  13  ff. 


299 


INDEX 


Herb  gardens,  35-36. 

Hollyhocks,  white,  used  in  white 
border,  16;  pink,  in  pink  bor- 
der, 17;  red,  in  red  border,  19; 
fertilizers  for,  124-125. 

Horn  shavings  as  a  fertilizer,  133. 

Hotbeds,  transplanting  from, 
12-13;  preparation  and  con- 
struction of,  92;  the  Sunlight 
Sash,  93. 

Huckleberry  bush,  possibilities  in 
the,  for  a  wild  garden,  167- 
168,  179,  ISO. 

Humus,  value  as  a  fertilizer,  131. 

H  i/aci nth  us  candicans,  84-85. 

Hydrangeas,  a  growing  distaste 
for,  30. 

Indian  pipe  in  wild  garden,  186- 
187. 

Intensive  gardening,  8-9. 

Iris,  German,  combination  of 
syringa  with,  in  planting,  11; 
growing  of,  from  seed,  86. 

Italian  Alkanet,  81-82. 

Italian  garden,  terrace  for,  154. 

Ivy,  English,  for  formal  deco- 
ration, 159;  hardy,  for  border 
of  terrace,  159. 

Japanese  anemones,  fertilization, 

of,  129. 
Japanese  iris,  cure  for  rose  bugs 

on,  140-141. 
Japanese    maples,    use    of,    in    a 

shrubbery,  11. 
Japanese  snowballs,  11,  12. 

Kansas  gay  feather,  23. 
Kelway,     English     specialist     in 
larkspurs,  74-75. 


Kentucky  blue  grass  for  lawns, 

48-49. 
Kochia,  old-time  annual,  88. 

Lady's  riding -whip,  so-called, 
87. 

Larches,  time  for  setting  out, 
10. 

Larkspurs,  in  borders,  14-15;  the 
annual,  26;  raising  of,  from 
seed,  74-76;  blight  which 
attacks,  136-137. 

Laurel,  growths  of,  168,  181. 

Lawn,  care  of  the,  41  ff. ;  rolling 
the,  44;  cottonseed  meal  for, 
44-45;  other  tonics,  45-46; 
removal  of  crab  grass,  orchard 
grass,  weeds,  and  dandelions 
from,  47. 

Lawns,  Kentucky  blue  grass,  red 
to)),  and  Rhode  Island  bent 
for,  48-49;  directions  about 
mowing,  50';  protection  of 
new,  with  straw,  corn-stalks, 
or  old  manure,  51;  seasons 
for  making  a  lawn,  51-52. 

Lilacs,  white,  combination  of 
columbines  with,  10-11. 

Lilies,  in  borders,  20-21;  suit- 
ability of,  for  terraces  and 
verandas,  155;  in  a  wild 
garden,  186. 

Lime,  use  of,  on  lawns,  47-48. 

Linden  trees,  raising  from  seed, 
109. 

Literature,  the  garden  in,  35- 
36. 

Locust  trees,  raising  from  seed, 
115. 

Lombardy  poplars,  planting  and 
raising  of,  111-112. 


300 


INDEX 


Magenta  phlox,  23-24. 
Magnolia  trees,  time  for  setting 

out,  9. 
Maidenhair  fern  in  wild  garden, 

187. 
Making  a  lawn,  seasons  for,  51- 

52. 
Mammoth      cosmos      in      white 

border,  16. 
Manure,  mixed  with  bone  meal 

for  fertilizing,  9;  mixed  with 

earth    as    a   tonic    for    grass, 

46. 

Maples,  raising  from  seed,  109. 
Marguerite     carnations,     raising 

of,  from  seed,  82-83. 
Mildew,  soot  a  remedy  for,  121; 

climbing    roses,    hybrid    teas, 

and  phlox  attacked  by,   137- 

138. 

Monkshood,  raising  of,  85. 
Mowing  of  lawns,  50. 

Nicotiana,  planting  for  color 
effect,  34-35;  raising  from 
seed,  88. 

Nitrate  of  soda,  method  of  use 
of,  as  a  fertilizer,  122-123. 

Oleanders,      for      terraces      and 

gardens,  157-158. 
Orchard,    grass   terrace    opening 

into  an,  161. 
Orchard    grass,    destruction    of, 

47. 

Pansies,  the  passing  of  the,  27- 

29. 

Parsons,  Samuel,  mentioned,  49. 
Pavement  of  terraces,  152-153. 
Pentstemon  barbatus  Torreyii,  20. 


Pentstemons,  raising  of,  from 
seed,  83. 

Peonies,  growing  of,  from  seed, 
85-86;  desirability  of  a  fer- 
tilizer to  produce  a  second 
crop  of  blossoms,  133-134. 

Perennials,  varieties  of  hardy,  to 
be  raised  from  seed,  74-86. 

Petunias,  varieties  and  beauty  of, 
24-25;  combinations  of,  with 
other  flowers,  34;  raising  from 
seed,  92;  Bon  Arbor  a  good 
fertilizer  for,  121. 

Phlox,  magenta,  23-24;  fertilizers 
for,  124-125;  treatment  of 
mildew  on,  138-139. 

Phlox  Drummondi,  89. 

Pine  trees,  raising  from  seed, 
100-106;  hedges  of  white  pine, 
106. 

Pink  border,  the,  17-18. 

Planning  a  country  place,  desir- 
ability of  expert  advice, 
146. 

Poplar,  the  yellow,  easily  grown 
from  cuttings,  111;  raising  the 
Lombardy,  from  shoots,  111- 
112. 

Poplars,  time  for  setting  out,  9. 

Poppies,  sowing  of,  21-22. 

Potted  plants  for  decoration  of 
terraces,  verandas,  doorsteps, 
etc.,  154-155. 

Poudrette,  excellence  as  a  fer- 
tilizer, 121;  use  of,  for  phlox 
and  hollyhocks,  124. 

Professional  gardeners,  a  word 
about,  147. 

Protecting  newly  made  lawns, 
51. 

Protection  of  box  edging,  59. 


301 


INDEX 


Pyrethrum,     varieties     of,     79; 
raising  of,  from  seed,  80. 

Red  border,  the,  19-20. 
Red  top  for  lawns,  48. 
Retinosporas,  clipping  of,  63. 
Rhode  Island  bent  for  lawns,  48- 

49. 
Rolling,  advisability  of  frequent, 

for  grass,  44. 
Rose   bugs,    preventive    mixture 

for,  140. 

Rose  caterpillar,  the,  141. 
Roses,    bone    meal    a    tonic    for, 

129;    transplanting    of    wild, 

178. 
Rosy  Morn  variety  of  petunia, 

25. 

Rotting  of  seeds  from  rain,  72. 
Rudbeckia,    the   casting  out   of, 

30. 

Salpiglossis,     27,     88-89;     sheep 

manure  for  fertilizing,  129. 
Salvia     azurea     grandiflora,    83- 

84. 
Schizanthus,   27;  description  of, 

89;  suitable  for  adornment  of 

terraces,  155-156. 
Scotch   soot    as    a   fertilizer   for 

foliage  plants,  133. 
Sea-side  lawns,  49. 
Seed,  raising  flowers  from,  71  ff.; 

raising  trees  from,  97  ff . 
Seed-pods,  preventing  formation 

of,  15-16. 
Seeds,  causes  of  failures  of,  72- 

73;  directions  for  sowing,   of 

deciduous  trees,  112-113. 
Shadow    pond,    the,    in    a    wild 

garden,  184-185. 


Sheep  manure,  as  a  fertilizer  for 
perennials,  122;  for  Japanese 
anemones,  129. 

Shrubbery,  combinations  which 
can  be  used  in,  11  ff. 

Shrubs,  bogs  and  swamps  as 
nurseries  for,  174;  trans- 
planting of,  in  winter,  175. 

Silver  King  variety  of  German 
iris,  145. 

Snapdragons,  combination  of 
crimson  and  ageratum,  for 
color  effect,  24;  raising  from 
seed,  90;  successful  fertili- 
zation of,  123-124. 

Snowstorm  variety  of  petunia» 
24-25;  combination  of  ager- 
atum and,  for  color  effect, 
34. 

Sod,  the  need  for  and  procuring 
of,  55-57. 

Solomon's  seal,  169. 

Soot,  as  a  fertilizer,  121;  for 
foliage  plants,  133;  the  best 
fertilizer  for  bay  and  box 
trees,  158. 

Spireas  in  white  border,  16. 

Spring  garden,  planting  the,  9- 
13,  31-33. 

Starwort,  varieties,  colors,  and 
raising  of,  80-81. 

Stocks,  starting  of,  in  hotbeds, 
90;  fertilizing,  128. 

Summer  cypress,  88. 

Sunlight  Sash,  the,  93. 

Swamp  maple,  the,  168. 

Swamps,  as  nurseries  for  plants 
and  shrubs,  174. 

Sweet  peas,  sowing  of,  21. 

Sycamore,  raising  from  seed, 
109 


302 


INDEX 


Syringa,  combination  of  German 
iris  and,  in  planting,  1 1 ;  the 
golden-leaved,  used  in  a 
shrubbery,  11. 

Terraces,   uses  of,    151-152;   ad-    ; 
vantages   of,    152;    protection 
of,    and   pavement,    152-153; 
retaining-walls    or    banks    of 
turf    for,    153-154;    flowering    j 
plants  suitable  for,    154-157;    | 
bay     and     box     trees,      and 
oleanders,     157-159;   English 
and  hardy  ivy,  159;  American 
arborvitse     and     varieties    of 
cedars,     159-160;    grass    ter- 
races, 160-161. 

Thrip,  remedy  for  the,  141. 

Trailing  arbutus  in  wild  garden, 
187. 

Transplanting  of  annuals  from 
hotbeds  in  spring,  12-13; 
transplanting  of  cedars,  57- 
58;  of  young  trees,  104-105; 
of  seedlings  of  deciduous  trees, 
114-115;  of  wild  plants,  172; 
of  trees  growing  in  wet  places, 
173;  of  sod  with  wild  flowers, 
174  ;  of  shrubs  in  winter, 
175, 

Trees,  time  for  setting  out  soft- 
wooded,  9—10;  raising  from 
seed,  97  ff. ;  time  of  planting 
seeds,  110;  directions  for 
sowing  seeds  of  deciduous 
trees,  112-113;  transplanting 
the  seedlings,  114-115. 

Trillium,  habitat  of,  169. 

Tulips,  combination  of,  with 
pink-flowered  crab  apples,  10; 
planted  around  pink  double- 


flowering  almond,  11;  com- 
bination of  Azalea  mollis  with, 
11. 

Tulip  trees,  time  for  setting  out, 
9;  a  difficult  tree  to  raise  from 
seed,  112;  transplanting  of, 
173;  in  a  wild  garden,  181. 

Valerian  in  borders,  17,  32. 

Verandas,  plants  suitable  for, 
155-160. 

Verbenas,  25;  combinations  of, 
with  other  flowers,  34;  ease 
of  raising  from  seed,  91;  fer- 
tilizing with  Bon  Arbor, 
128. 

Walnut  trees,  raising  of,  106-108; 
seeds  to  be  planted  in  autumn, 
114-115. 

Water-gardens,  169-170,  185. 

WTeigela,  use  of,  in  a  shrubbery, 
11-12. 

Whale-oil  soap  a  cure  for  the 
thrip,  141. 

White  border,  the,  16-17. 

Wild  garden,  the,  165  ff. ;  loca- 
tions adapted  for,  166;  possi- 
bilities for,  on  run-down  and 
neglected  farms,  166-167; 
trees  and  shrubbery  for,  167- 
168;  laurel,  swamp  maple,  and 
varieties  of  flowers  for,  168- 
169;  opportunity  for  a  water- 
garden,  169-170;  proper  treat- 
ment of  wild  plants  in,  171; 
transplanting  wild  plants, 
trees,  and  shrubs  to,  172-175; 
the  Connecticut  Garden,  177 
ff. ;  the  "shadow  pond,"  184- 
185;  the  Gray  Glen,  187-188; 


f303 


INDEX 


the  hemlock  glen,  189-190; 
possibilities  of  wild  gardening 
as  illustrated  by  the  Con- 
necticut Garden,  191-192. 

Willows,  time  for  setting  out,  9; 
best  grown  from  cuttings,  111. 

Windflower,  the,  169. 

Wood  ashes  for  grass,  45-46. 


Wood  meadow  grass  for  use  in 
shady  places,  49. 

Yellow  and  orange  border,  flow- 
ers for,  23-24. 

Yellow  cockscomb,  25-26. 

Yellow  poplar,  growing  from  cut- 
tings, 111. 


304 


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